Tomorrow's Guardians
by Michael Weyer
Summary: IC Phase 1. The only thing standing between the future and destruction are the Legends, the Guardians and the crew of the Orville. We are so screwed.
1. Chapter 1

**Tomorrow's Guardians**

 **By Michael Weyer**

 **I know, the title is a bit cliché but best I could do. Just another wild idea that hit me and had to get it out as it plays more into the cosmic storyline.**

* * *

 **France, 1626**

"Will you keep this thing steady?!"

"This is not an SUV!"

Ray Palmer cursed as he tried to pull on the reins of the horses. The carriage bounced on the rough road as it shook hard. Next to him, Mick Rory let out a groan as he held the large floppy hat to his head. Like Ray, he was dressed in a dark outfit that fit him rather poorly. "Gonna be sick…"

"Not on the royal coach!"

Inside the carriage, Sara Lance was doing her best to handle the blade-wielding assassin trying to strike at her. She was held back by the close quarters as well as the huge white dress she was wearing which restricted her movements. She was attempting to block the man's attacks even as she was hampered by her outfit. Next to her, a wide-eyed Queen Anne leaned as far back in her seat as she could, watching what she had thought was just a lady-in-waiting fighting a killer.

On the roof of the carriage, Zari had just punched a man off the side and watched him fall in a heap onto the ground. She had tossed aside her hat to allow her long hair to be shown, a contrast to the musketeer uniform she wore. Her sword was in her hand and moving to block a thrust from another of the rough and tumble killers trying to attack the coach.

The sound of hoof beats got her attention and she looked over to see Laurel Lance riding up on a horse. Her own musketeer outfit was tattered as her hair flowed back behind her. Doing his best not to make it seem like he was grabbing her in an uncomfortable way, John Constantine held on to her as the horse rode up. He was in his usual outfit which stood out in 17th century France but he'd insisted on taking a "backstage" role in all this.

Laurel was coming up to the coach, handing the reins over to Constantine. "Wait a bloody…" the warlock started but Laurel was already leaping off the horse and grabbing the coach. She yanked the door open and kicked at the man Sara was fighting. He grunted as he was knocked back. Both sisters lunged out with kicks that sent the guy flying out the other door and rolling on the ground.

Sara looked to Laurel and raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you ride a horse?"

Laurel frowned. "Your Laurel never went to summer camp?"

"She did. She hated it."

"Huh." Black Siren gave a shrug as she glanced out the window. "I think we lost them."

A loud cry echoed as another would-be killer was tossed off the roof of the coach and to the ground. Ray managed to bring the coach to a stop as Laurel hopped out and helped Sara out as well. Constantine came up on the horse, wincing as he got off it. "Vampires are dusted and the Three Musketeers are still alive," he announced.

Anne smiled to Sara. "It appears I owe you a debt…again." She moved to give Sara a long kiss as Laurel had to raise her eyebrows.

"Um…thanks," Sara finally said as it was broken. "Um, sorry but, Ray?" Anne turned in time for Ray to flash her with the memory eraser. He led her back to the coach as Sara saw Laurel smirking at her. "You…and the Queen of France…"

Sara sighed. "It was a while ago and yes, Ava knows."

"Oh, I bet. You must have amazing pillow talk…"

"Okay, I think I actually preferred you hating me."

Mick was puking on the ground before rising up. "Can we get going? I hate this country. No matter what time period, I hate it."

"For the tenth time, Mick, French fries won't be invented for centuries and they don't come from here in the first place!"

"I miss beer. You know how crappy the wine in this time is?"

"He actually has a point…"

"Shut up, Laurel."

* * *

In her months with the Legends, Laurel Lance of Earth-2 had come to several conclusions.

First, it was great to have a sister again. It wasn't the same one, of course, but this Sara understood Laurel fighting her dark side quite well and was doing her best to help her out. Likewise, Laurel didn't have the same blame for this Sara, seeing how she paid the price for that affair with Oliver. The two had bonded well, much better than Laurel and her Sara had.

Second, she was on a ship packed with absolute morons. Oh, Sara could be sharp but still prone to nutty stuff (especially with Ava) and for a supposed engineering genius, Ray could be a goof. The less said of the others, the better.

Third, there was literally no situation this team could not find a way to make ten times worse and half the time was cleaning up messes they themselves had created.

Finally, whenever this team did manage to save the day, it was more by luck, chance or borderline divine intervention than anything they actually planned.

It had been a ride for Laurel since joining them. This latest trip, preventing vampires from turning Queen Anne and making France a vampire nation, was actually calm compared to stopping demons from attacking 1979 Camp David or werewolves assaulting Queen Victoria. She was doing her best to handle it and getting to know her teammates. Which could be rather tricky.

"Still say I could have been of help with you lot," Charlie stated. Laurel was pretty much the one person who didn't give the former shapeshifter flack. After all, she hadn't known Amaya so didn't have any judgement of someone else wearing her face. And she actually liked the woman always speaking her mind and not holding back her opinions. People with little tact appealed to Laurel well.

"You wouldn't exactly blend in well," Sara stated. They were assembling on the main bridge of the Waverider, the group back in their usual clothes. Laurel had been ditching her usual tight leather outfits for jeans and a blouse although she just couldn't get rid of her long coat.

Charlie was in one of her usual "punk" outfits of a dark jacket, blouse and mini-skirt that seemed to fit in any time period. "Right and Mick sets in place perfectly."

"She's got you there," Laurel noted. She accepted the bottle Charlie was offering to take a long swig. "Ugh, have to agree with Mick, not a fan of old-time France."

"Bad trip there?"

"Ah, never happy how they stabbed us in the back siding with the Russians after World War II on my Earth."

"At least we got it handled," Sara announced. "I'm gonna check in with Ava and Nate and then we can enjoy some down time."

It was at just this point that the _Waverider_ was rocked hard by a collision with another ship.

* * *

 **Ten minutes earlier…**

"This is all your fault."

"Are you going to say that every day?"

"Yes. I most likely am."

"She is right to."

"Oh, like you had better ideas…"

"Any idea was better than this!"

" _I am Groot."_

"He agrees with me!"

"He's a maroon!'

" _I am Groot_!"

"Sorry, buddy but ya are in this case."

"I relish the chance for battle!"

"Do you like it?"

"I did not say that."

"Dear God, you're all idiots."

The Guardians of the Galaxy were never what one might call the most sedate group in the best of circumstances. These were not it.

Peter Quill let out a yell as he set their ship spinning around. The _Benatar_ moved to dodge the cannon fire from one of the two dozen smaller ships swarming after them. Next to him, Gamora cursed as she also worked the controls of the craft. Behind them, Drax held on to the straps of his seat while Mantis yelped as the ship shook.

"Dammit, Quill, stop fighting me on this!" Rocket snapped from the rear of the craft where he was manning the cannons. "I can barely get a bead on these guys!" He grunted before firing back to knock one ship off course in a blast of fire.

"I'm trying to avoid them!" Peter snapped back. The ship shook under a blast.

"Winning on that, boss!"

"This is all your fault!" Gamora repeated.

"She's right on that," Nebula growled from her own chair, her real eye flaring more than her artificial one. "You're the one who wanted to explore this universe."

"Yeah and I regret it! The rock acts aren't as good as the ones I know, I'm dying here!"

"We shall mourn you as a worthy ally," Drax stated in his flat voice. "And curse you for your role as captain."

"It was your idea to try and rob that place," Gamora continued.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know these Kind…"

"Khund," Gamora corrected.

"Khund were going to take that bit so personally?"

"The massive armored suits, armada of ships and the high security around their temple weren't a sign?"

"I figured they were just showing off?"

"How in God's name have you managed to live this long?"

"Look, I thought the wormhole thing would be fun!"

"Who the hell told you that?" Gamora demanded.

"It just looked like something to check out. Who would have guessed it could be that dangerous?"

" _Everyone_!" Everyone (except Groot) yelled. Sparks flew the _Benatar_ took a random shot from a pursuing fighter. "We need to lose these freaks!" Rocket yelled out.

"Right…right…" Peter nodded. "Okay, seeing something ahead of us!" He nodded to the strange pool of energy that seemed to have formed out of nowhere roughly a mile away.

"Are you nuts?" Gamora snapped. "That's what got us into this mess in the first place!"

"Since when are you so wimpy on things?"

"Since I was dead, you asshole!"

"I was too!"

"It's not the same!"

"You're arguing which of you died worse?" Nebula declared in disbelief.

"They enjoy bickering a lot," Mantis stated. "It makes their couplings far more intense."

Peter ignored her to bank the _Benatar_ and send it toward the wormhole. "This is a bad idea!" Gamora yelled.

"Which is right up our alley!" Peter pointed out. The ship entered the hole which snapped shut behind it, leaving several Khund patrol ships flying through empty space.

Peter let out a laugh as he flew the ship through a bright green tunnel. "Wow, going full Tron here!"

Gamora was checking the readings. "This is…bizarre. It's not like any sort of wormhole we've encountered before."

"Probably another of those weirdo things in this universe," Rocket stated as he came up and slipped into his usual seat next to Quill. He took up the co-pilot controls as he looked over the tunnel ahead of them. "Huh, maybe we can use this to get back ta our own universe and-"

It was right about then that the _Waverider_ seemed to pop right into view from a turn in the tunnel and the _Benatar_ smashed into it.

* * *

" _Vehicle collision!"_

"Yeah, thanks for the heads-up, Gideon!" Laurel yelled as she grabbed a nearby chair for support. Sara was crawling into the main control chair as she fought to handle the craft. "What the hell hit us!" she demanded.

" _A secondary craft whose origin I cannot determine at this time. I would suggest we table its origins before we suffer full integrity collapse."_

"Good call," Sara grunted as she wrestled with the controls. "Is it…stuck on us?" She looked out to see the other craft with its right wing wedged in the forward struts of the _Waverider_. They were close enough so the Legends could see into the front window of the craft and make out its passengers.

"Rocket!" Mick said with a grin. "I'd know that mug anywhere!"

"Wait…that's really a gun-wielding talking raccoon?" Zari blinked.

"I told you about him!'

"Yeah but…you know, I figured you were just drunk."

Sara felt the other ship bumping against them. "Gideon, try to open a communications channel!"

It took a few moments for the AI to respond. "Channel open, Captain."

"Quill!" Sara barked. "What the hell are you doing, you idiot!"

" _I'm the idiot_?" his voice barked back. " _You flew into us! How could you possibly miss us? We're the only thing in this tunnel for miles!"_

"There's no such thing as miles in the timestream."

" _Fine, kilometers! That doesn't change how bad you messed this up!"_

"You flew into….never mind. Just try and ease off on the thrusters before…"

A shaking overtook both crafts as the two ships burst out of the tunnel. " _We have been forced out of the timestream,_ " Gideon stated. " _Sensors indicate a planet below capable of holding human life."_

Sara shook her head. "Okay, Quill, we need to get separated before we crash! Ease back and reverse your thrusters and I can do the same!"

" _Hey, you don't talk to me, I'm the boss-"_

" _Ignore him_ ," Rocket's voice echoed over the line. " _Just give us the signal and we can pull it off."_

Laurel saw the planet coming at the two craft quickly, the ships already rocking as they entered the atmosphere. "Someone better do something because I am not dying on some alien planet!"

"Actually, you're not from this universe so any planet would be an alien planet…"

"Shut up, Ray!"

On the _Benatar_ , Rocket was throwing switches as he pulled back on the controls. "Dammit, I told ya we needed to improve the engines!"

"It was on the to-do list!'

" _I am Groot!"_

"No backseat driving!"

With a snarl, Rocket finally yanked back as the _Benatar_ broke free from the _Waverider_. Both ships spun about before they could right themselves. The _Waverider_ was cutting over the tops of the trees of a huge forest while the _Benatar_ barely avoided slamming into a large hill. Both of the craft managed to land onto a large field, skidding about the grass before finally coming to stops. Sara gasped out as the _Waverider_ finally stopped.

"That cured the hangover," Constantine announced as he crawled out from under his chair. Charlie was groaning herself as she got back to her feet. The other Legends were likewise shaken but okay.

" _Damage is minimal_ ," Gideon announced. " _Although the main time drive is offline for now."_

"Any idea where we are?" Sara demanded.

" _Scanning…It would appear in the Earth calendar, it is August 11th, 2420. I am having difficulty figuring our exact location but we are at least 175 light-years away from Earth."_

"Huh, the far future for once," Ray noted. "That's a twist."

"Can we contact the Time Bureau?" Sara asked.

" _Negative. Our usual link appears to have suffered a disconnection."_

"All right, we'll figure that out later." Sara pulled herself out of her chair. "Right now, I've got an idiot to punch and for once, it's not Mick."

* * *

The _Benatar's_ ramp was down to allow the Guardians to step out, snapping at one another as they did. "Once more, this was not me!" Peter yelled. "You're all witnesses!"

" _I am Groot."_

"Yes, you did see it! You're backing me up here!"

"I did not see it," Drax intoned.

"How can you say that?"

"I open my mouth and utilize my vocal cords."

"Watch it," Rocket announced. "We got company and their bitches are set firmly to 'on.'"

Sure enough, Sara and Laurel were leading the way as the Legends poured out of their ship. And just as Rocket stated, the two sisters did not at all look pleased at who they were facing. "You!" Sara yelled, pointing at Peter who made a "who, me?" face. "Han Loser! What the hell were you even doing there?"

"I was attempting to make a simple flight," Quill fired back. "And the official title is Star-Lord."

"No one actually calls you that!"

"Yes, they do."

"No, they don't, your own crew says that!"

"Hey, Rocket," Mick said with a wave.

The raccoon waved back with a grin. "Mick, good ta see ya again. Ya heard from that Jessica gal?"

"Nah, some reason, Lance won't let me go visit her."

"Because we actually care about that version of New York," Laurel stated.

 _"I am Groot."_

"Oh, like you fit in that town!"

Zari and Charlie both had to take in the Guardians for the first time. "Talking trees," Charlie mused. "Nice to know I can still see something new round here."

Sara crossed her arms. "Just what are you idiots doing here anyway? How'd you even get into our universe?"

"Well, we were exploring," Peter announced. "Saw a wormhole and we…"

" _You_ ," the rest of the Guardians chorused.

"Decided to check it out. Found ourselves in what I guess is your universe, just did our best to fit in but then Nebula ticked off these Khunds…"

Nebula let out a slow growl to show Quill was bending the truth of the incident.

"We were on the run and then ducked into that light show-tunnel." Peter crossed his arms. "So again, in no way was this our fault. We will now accept your apology."

Sara just stared, uncertain whether to laugh before or after punching Peter in the face. She moved in, her face tight with anger. In a flash, Gamora was there, a sword at Sara's throat. "The only one who gets to hit Quill for his mistakes is us," she intoned.

Sara glared at her. "Do you even realize what happened? You're not just in another universe, you're in the 25th century!"

The Guardians were thrown before slowly directing ugly glares at their captain. For his part, Quill simply pursed his lips and shrugged. "Okay...slight issue. But, guess far future is better than alternatives. I mean, we could have landed in the Old West or a land of dinosaurs." He shivered at that. "I hate dinosaurs. Worst museum trip of my life."

Rocket threw up his hands. "This is...this tops it all, Quill! I mean it, this is hands down the biggest mess you have ever gotten us into!"

"Again, do you see any dinosaurs? No! Therefore, not the biggest mess it could be!"

Zari raised an eyebrow. "This man is a master of claiming situations can only be worse."

"Which means he fits in around here," Laurel muttered.

Peter glared at her. "Oh, sure, mock my pain! Let's see you get chased by a dino!"

"I have been."

"Then you agree with me! Seriously, folks act like I never make sense but my logic is shining here!"

Laurel growled herself, preparing a scream. Drax appeared to tense up as Ray moved ahead, holding up his arms. "Whoa, whoa, hey, come on, guys! Can we just avoid this total cliché of a fight? Come on, let's just calm down, figure things out and then maybe get back to where we're supposed to be."

"What, work together?" Rocket barked.

"Sure, where's the harm?"

"Wherever it is, we'll find it," Laurel muttered.

Groot was glancing around suddenly, the "brows" of his face twitching a bit. " _I am Groot."_

The Guardians were instantly alert. "Where?" Rocket demanded, lifting up his large rifle.

" _I am Groot."_

"How many?"

" _I_ _am Groot_."

Ray shook his head. "Just so I know it's not me, no one else is getting this?" The rest of the Legends shook their heads.

Quill looked to the group. "Groot says we've got guys coming in. He can feel them through the trees."

On any other day, that would have been an odd statement. Sara had learned a long time ago to ignore such bizarre utterances to just accept a serious threat. "How many?"

" _I am Groot."_

"A dozen, maybe more."

"How do we play it?"

"We attack and crush them in droves!" Drax announced.

"Or we try a non-suicidal approach," Sara fired back. "We get into groups, try to pick these guys off fast."

"You want us to split up?" Ray asked. "That can hurt our effectiveness."

"He's right, you're far more effective causing messes as a cohesive unit," Laurel dryly stated.

Sara just rolled her eyes. "Fine, we get into some small teams and try to stop this before it gets out of hand."

Nebula scoffed. "Like that's an option."

"Preaching to the choir, sister," Laurel agreed.

Drax frowned. "I did not know you had another sibling," he told Gamora, who just let out a tired sigh.

* * *

The figures moving through the forest were all clad in solid black armor with large helmets that blocked almost all of their faces. They moved in the formation of professional soldiers, their large rifles raised. Their leader was looking around, holding up a hand to get the group to stop. He slowly looked around, the sensors in his mask showing shapes flowing. He barked out orders in a guttural language as two of the soldiers moved to his side. Without hesitation, they opened fire, streaks of energy ripping into the forest.

A set of branches flew out to grab two of the soldiers. They gasped out as they were yanked off their feet and sent flying through the air. The rest of the group were moving to fire at the large shape coming at them. Before they could, a loud shriek erupted to knock them off their feet. A louder roar came out as Drax burst from the foliage with his knives flashing. He knocked down one attacker before slashing at another, the metal bouncing off the armor.

An alien was blasted off his feet by a large laser as Rocket scurried among the branches to get a new vantage spot. Before he could move, Zari had unleashed a blast of wind that carried two aliens in the air. She let it go as they dropped down to land right on the swords of Gamora and Nebula.

Mick was rising up to unleash a blast of flame that drove one of the armored figures back. Mantis and Sara were moving in, using their various martial arts moves to take down some more of the warriors. Ray was lacking his full suit but his gauntlets were enough to knock an attacker off his feet. Star-Lord was firing off his own blasters to take down two others while Nebula and Gamora slashed down another pair.

Laurel joined Sara in knocking some of the armored figures back as Groot once more sent some flying off with his branches. One attacker snarled as he lunged at Sara. She dodged and brought her staff up to smash the helmet off his head. Under it was a mostly bald grey reptilian face marked with several ridges. He charged at Sara, who pushed him out of the shadows and into a bright spot on the field where the sun shone.

As soon as he hit the sunlight, the figure began screaming in agony. His skin seemed to ignite as if on fire as she collapsed to the ground, withering in pain. "Sunlight hurts them!" Sara cried out.

"My cue then," Constantine remarked. He waved his hands as he whispered under his breath in some odd language. He threw his hands out to create a blast of pure sunlight struck the armored troops. They all screamed out as they collapsed, clawing at their helmets. A few managed to get them off to show the same smoking skin. They were soon collapsing in place with their scaly skin completely charred.

Rocket rubbed at his nose. "Yow, that is not a good smell."

The tree was wincing as he brushed off his barky arms. _"I am Groot_!"

"Sure it wasn't intentional, buddy," Peter stated. He leaned down to look at one of the corpses. "Huh, these guys look like bad Kree knock-offs."

"Whatever they weren't they weren't friendly," Sara stated. "We need to get off this planet fast before more of them show up."

"We shall crush them in far more effective ways!" Drax declared.

"There is something deeply wrong with you," Ray noted. Drax merely shrugged.

Laurel rubbed her temples. "Can't we just go to our own ships and leave?"

"We need repairs first," Ray stated. "Plus, we have to figure a way to get these guys back to their own time and universe."

"We can explore here first," Mantis suggested.

Laurel gaped at her. "Seriously? We didn't even go five minutes before getting attacked! You want to risk that more?"

"Risk is reward, baby," Rocket pointed out. "We got bills to pay!"

"Indeed," Mantis stated. "Plus, we have our reputation."

"From what we gather, it's more like an epic rap sheet of chaos," Sara noted.

"Not always," Mantis proclaimed with a bright smile. "We are also known for grand mayhem!"

Laurel stared at her. "Good lord, you people are idiots."

"As I've been saying," Nebula agreed.

"Ease up!" Rocket snapped. "Aint' like your bunch is much better."

Laurel glared at him. "Watch it or I turn you into a coonskin cap."

"Hey, come on!" Mick fired at her. "He's my friend."

"Really not a winning endorsement, Rory."

"Crazy bitch," Peter muttered.

Laurel whirled on him, her eyes flaring. "Excuse me?"

Peter blinked. "Um, crazy woman of questionable morality but whose rights as a person are equal to my own."

"Much better."

Constantine fired up a cigarette. "Maybe we push this aside until we get away from here?" He nodded to the corpses. "This is freaking me out a bit."

Zari stated at him. "You work with demons and literally have gone to Hell. Yet aliens are freaking you out?"

"Degrees, luv. It's all in the degrees."

"I sense no change in temperature," Drax announced.

Rocket looked over to Mick. "Ya got any beer?" He was answered by a loud chuckle.

Sara clapped her hands. "All right, settle down! Let's get to our own ships, get them repaired and then figure out how to get back to our own homes!"

"Hey, who put you in charge?" Peter stated.

The Legends all raised their hands. After a pause, Mantis, Drax, Rocket, Nebula and Groot did the same.

"Thanks a lot, guys…"

"You are welcome," Drax intoned.

Gamora sighed. "At least we can get going before…"

A loud roaring came overhead and they all looked up to see a rather large and imposing black spacecraft appear above them.

"Wow," Ray dryly noted. "They didn't even give her a chance to finish."

* * *

 **Somewhere in space…**

The ship cut through the skies of space like a silver gem. It looked like a mostly straight arrow with some unique slopes along its decks. The rear of the craft spread out in what looked like interlocking arches. The ship was clearly military but also a proud vibe to it that made it stand out in the cosmos.

Captain Ed Mercer paced into the main bridge of the _U.S.S. Orville_ , trying to be as all business as one could be while dressed in an Old West outfit. He'd been enjoying a long overdue afternoon off in the ship's environmental simulator when he heard the alarm go off. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Turning in her chair, Commander Kelly Grayson didn't find anything at all odd about her ex-husband's attire. "We picked up a Krill signal a dozen light-years off." Her dark blonde hair offset her attractive face even as she tried to be all business.

Mercer frowned. "That's weird. The Krill don't stray this far away from their usual routes."

"Perhaps it is a scout ship." As always, any declaration from Lieutenant Commander Bortus was a deep rumble. The Moclus native was notable for his dark brown skin marked with ridges and a massive build that made him look like he was forged out of rock. "They may be attempting to expand their horizons."

" _It is a logical move_ ," the flat electronic voice of Isaac echoed. The robotic science officer was at his usual station, his blue eyes gazing out of its mouthless face. " _Regardless, the signals did cut off suddenly. As if the ship was damaged somehow."_

"Maybe we shouldn't go in then," Lieutenant Talla Keylai: piped up. The attractive Xelayan rubbed her brow, whose ridges were as notable as her large pointed ears. "Perhaps they sent out a distress call. We could be facing more Krill vessels."

" _On the other hand_ ," Isaac stated. " _If it is a crashed ship, it would offer an opportunity to capture and study Krill technology."_

Mercer stroked his chin in thought. At the console of the ship, Gordon Malloy and John LaMarr exchanged looks. The red-haired helmsman and the black chief engineer were good friends who each trusted their captain, no matter his often odd behavior.

Mercer finally nodded. "All right, let's head there. Keep all the sensors up to make sure we don't stumble on any other Krill in the sector."

Kelly coughed. "We still have the issue of that…agent the Union insisted we take on."

"The bounty hunter," Talla snapped. As the head of security, she was naturally not happy about such a threat so close by. "Why do we need him here?"

"Something about how he's needed for another job and we're giving him a lift." Kelly shook her head. "I'm not happy about it either but orders are orders."

Mercer sighed as he rubbed his head. "Fine, fine. Let's get set. Where's that new guy, anyway?"

"Right here," a sardonic voice answered. Shepherd looked up to see a handsome man with a crew cut marching forward. Instead of a standard uniform, he wore a dark blue coat with a lining on it over his suit. His lips seemed curved in a permanent smirk and a large weapon lay at his hip. He threw a mocking salute to the captain, who just let out a tired sigh.

"Leonard Snart reporting for duty, Captain."

* * *

 **The idea of adding the nuts from the Orville into this was too good to pass up. And as you can guess from that last line, a few twists to come.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Tomorrow's Guardians**

 **By Michael Weyer**

 **Okay, quick note. At the time of the writing of the first chapter, I was unaware Halston Sage would be leaving** _ **The Orville**_ **so soon into season 2. Had considered switching it around so she stayed a bit but realized Jessica Szohr is joining as a security chief from the same planet as Alara so would fit in with her own strength and such. I already fixed the first chapter so it's now the character of Talla instead of Alara as security chief. Just clearing it up there.**

* * *

Ed Mercer had never been one for a serious cup of coffee. But some days, when drinking on duty wasn't acceptable, he had to be open to anything to soothe the nerves. He took a long and slow drink, letting the liquid pour down his throat. He carefully placed the cup down on his desk before fixing his features on the group sitting in front of him. "All right…who wants to go first?"

Kelly licked her lips as Ed had to note that, even with a huge bandage around her head and a black eye, she was still the more beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Next to her, Talla shuffled in her seat and winced a bit as she felt the cast on her right arm issue some pain. In the next chair, Bortus was ramrod straight as usual and gazed out, ignoring how it appeared half his skin had been exposed to some sort of huge light like a very bad suntan.

"It was…complicated, sir," Talla began.

"Complicated?" Ed's eyes widened. "Lieutenant, 'complicated' is getting the recording device in my quarters to work right with the proper timer. I have three members of my senior staff with injuries, another half dozen well-trained Union marines in sickbay, my chief engineer with a broken jaw and damage to a major part of this ship! How about you try and uncomplicate this for me?"

Talla took a deep breath. "We arrived on the planet just before getting the message that you'd found the larger Krill ship in orbit. We took down a shuttle with me, Bortus, Snart and a few security officers. When we got there, the situation was….well…"

* * *

The sounds of battle could be heard for quite a distance as the Union officers raced to the main clearing. A loud yelling got their attention as a Krill soldier was seen flying through the air to crash into a tree. The group came to a stop as they saw a collection of strange figures attacking the Krill troops and holding their own. From a massive walking tree to someone using a miniature flamethrower, the group was handling the enemy forces well.

"Who the hell…" Talla began. She glanced to Snart, who was staring in utter wonder before breaking out into a rare laugh. "Of course…who else?" He moved forward, firing a blast of his weapon that emitted a blast of white energy. It struck one Krill, who stiffened in place as a sheen of ice covered him.

Sara whirled about to stare in shock at the figure. Ray and Mick were soon joining her, both equally rocked by his arrival. "Len?" Mick whispered. He looked over to Ray. "You see him too, right?" Ray could only nod

Sara was staring in wonder although she wasn't as shocked as one might expect. After all, it was hardly as if she'd seen someone believed to be dead alive again and that list included herself. "Snart? Is that…"

Len smirked. "Hey, Sara. Huh, even sexier now."

"How…" Ray began.

"Maybe shelve it for now?" Len stated, nodding to the Krill. Mick had a massive grin on his face as he fired off his flamethrower and Len joined in.

Talla and Bortus exchanged confused looks as they saw the masked figure firing off blasters while two women with differing skin colors slashed at other Krills with large swords. The raccoon scurrying around with a huge gun was just the icing on the cake. Shrugging, they moved in to fire off their weapons and help drive the Krill back.

* * *

"Wait, wait," Ed said, holding up his hand. "Snart knows these people?"

"Some of them," Talla answered. "To be honest, sir, we couldn't make heads or tails out of their conversation…."

* * *

Mick moved to embrace Len, who seemed startled at the move. Mick broke off to frown. "Hold it. You're not gay, are you?"

Len blinked. "No."

Mick laughed and went right back to hugging him. Len was startled as Ray did the same thing. "Let go of me, Palmer." Ray did so. Len smiled to Sara. "Looking good, Canary."

"Easy, Len," Mick stated. "She's got a girlfriend now."

Snart merely shrugged before looking around. "Huh. Where's Stein and the kid?"

The trio's faces sobered. "Stein…died," Sara stated.

Len's smirk vanished. "Damn. I kinda liked the old guy." His eyes narrowed. "Jax?"

"He left right afterward," Ray explained. "We ran into him a bit ago, he's doing great, married with a kid and everything." By this point, most of the Krill had been taken down. The others were being rounded up by the Union troops, placed on their knees with hands behind their heads.

"Huh, so another Len Snart?" Zari asked as she came forward. Sara took a few moments to make introductions to the other Legends with Len nodding. The Guardians appeared a bit confused by all this but putting up with it.

"Okay, big question," Sara announced. "How are you alive?"

"Hey!" The group all turned to see Talla stepping forward. "How about who are you people?"

"I got a better one," Peter snapped. "Who are _you_ people?"

"I have a better one…"

"Not again, Drax!"

"We're from the Union ship, the U.S.S. _Orville_ ," Talla announced.

Sara looked to Snart who quickly answered. "The Planetary Union. Basically, think _Star Trek_." The group nodded in understanding. "Just don't bring it up before them, it's a touchy subject." He turned to face Bortus. "It's okay, I know them."

"How?" the figure rumbled.

"It's…complicated. But I can vouch for them." He looked to the Guardians. "Except those guys."

Quill stepped forward. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm Star-Lord."

Talla and Bortus looked to each other and back to him. "Who?" they asked in unison. Peter let out the tired sigh of someone used to this treatment.

Bortus brought himself up. "We must learn more of you and your intentions upon this planet. We will ask you to accompany us to our ship."

Drax crossed his arms. "And if we refuse?"

Bortus simply stared at him. "Do not."

The two teams looked at each other as Snart stepped forward. "Listen, I know they can be stuffy but they do have resources and if I know you guys, you're already in a jam, right?" Sara had to agree with that. "So come on, let's just trust for once and try to settle this fast."

Sara cocked her head at him. "You really have changed."

Len shrugged. "I've been through a lot. Come on, Sara, just once, try to do something calmly."

"It would be a new experience."

* * *

Ed rubbed his temples. "All right. So you brought them up in those two ships which are now in our hanger and evidentially, one has locked itself off to us. Fine, I get it. But tell me exactly whose idea it was that rather than go straight to sickbay for examinations, you brought these groups to the mess hall?"

Talla coughed. "It was Snart's idea, sir and we were having issues getting them all together as it was. Plus, we figured the first priority would be to make sure the Krill were kept in lockdown in special quarters. I wanted to get a detail but you were distracted by the call from the Admiralty…."

"Fine, fine but the mess hall?" Ed shook his head. "You had to know something would happen!"

* * *

For once, the Legends barely got any looks as they settled into the mess hall of the Orville. Indeed, even the Guardians didn't stand out too much with the other aliens about. Snart was bringing them a large selection of drinks, which Mick wasted no time downing. Mantis and Drax sniffed at theirs while Sara was downing hers quickly. "Once more," she began. "How are you alive, Len?"

Snart leaned back in his chair. "Can't tell you too much of what happened after that Oculus blew. I figured it was it to be sure so when I woke up on some planet, I had no idea what had happened. Actually took a bit to settle in and realize I was in the future. As it turns out, no matter what time period or where you are, there's still crime so found myself making ends meet."

"How'd you join the Union?" Ray asked.

"Technically, I haven't," Snart corrected him. "I'm a bounty hunter and got assigned to this ship as part of a special job. I had no idea it would lead to you guys." He sipped his drink down. "I'm guessing things have been…hectic?"

"Ah, time travel, reality rewritten, battling a past evil version of you, creating a huge teddy bear to fight a demon…"

Snart raised an eyebrow. "Sounds….fun." He looked at the Guardians. "And who are these guys?"

"It's a bit complicated," Sara explained. "Short version, pack of guys from another universe who are sort of space heroes."

" _I am Groot."_

"Okay, heroes is pushing it."

" _I am Groot."_

"They should fit in well then," Snart noted. "The Union has some…odd types as well."

"How are they?" Zari pressed. "What kind of people?"

"Not much different than us," Snart stated. "They do have this weird obsession with late 20th century culture, watch TV and movies from that time constantly, don't ask me why."

"Ugh, getting enough trouble latching onto pop culture as is," Charlie stated. "Really don't get why you all like that _Star Wars_ thing."

"That's because you started with Episode I!" Ray snapped.

Charlie frowned in confusion. "Why would I not start with the first movie?" Ray opened his mouth but a sharp glare from Laurel made him silence himself.

Len looked to Laurel. "So, sister from another Earth? Interesting. You wouldn't know me there, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Laurel smiled wickedly. "You're the commissioner of the Central City police department."

She timed it perfectly as Len was just sipping his drink and nearly choked on it. Mick couldn't help letting out a laugh at that. Laurel turned to smirk back at him. "Oh, don't be laughing, two-time winner of 'America's best fire chief' award." That made Mick shut up.

"Excuse me." The group look up to see Talla, Bortus and some security officers standing before them. Talla was looking as stern as she could. "Snart, we were busy dealing with all those Krill corpses you left behind but we have to insist these…friends of yours head to medical and then be handled for questioning."

"Hey, I vouch for them."

"That's really not a sterling recommendation given your occupation."

Bortus was speaking in his rumble. "We must have you examined at once. It is standard procedure."

"I think you'll find we almost never do anything standard," Sara said with a smirk as the rest of the group made nods of agreement.

Bortus stepped forward, his expression more dour. "This is not a request."

Drax stood up to glare at the other man. "No one makes me do anything I don't want to do."

"He's right," Mantis intoned. "Which is a key reason his bed smells so badly." Drax merely nodded as if vindicated.

* * *

"It was at this point," Bortus stated. "That things took a downward turn."

* * *

Talla glared at the group. "Listen, I don't want to lose my temper…"

Drax stepped forward, reaching a hand to her. "You are a child. I do not hurt children so I will simply.." He stopped as Talla grabbed his arm. She reached to clutch Drax by the cuff of his pants and then lifted him off his feet. Drax could only give out a startled yell before Talla sent him crashing face first into the floor. She then put a foot onto his back and Drax gasped as it felt as if he was being stepped on by an elephant.

The Guardians all just stared in disbelief while the Legends marveled at how this seemingly petite young woman was easily holding Drax down. Bortus also glared at the group. "You will accompany us now." He pointed to Rocket. "The animal shall be examined for possible diseases."

"Hey, I ain't dirty!" Rocket snapped at him. "And no one's putting me in a cage!"

Bortus' face was set. "It is not a cage. We are merely…"

" _I am Groot_!" The tree was moving forward, his face drawn in anger at Bortus, who remained impassive. "I will not be threatened by a walking plant."

"Hey!" called out a uniformed figure with a face that looked like brown bark. "That's speciest!"

"My apologies." Bortus motioned to an officer who headed to Rocket. Mick stepped in the man's path, his face set. "No one messes with my buddy!"

Zari closed her eyes. "And away we go…"

The first punch was thrown to knock the Union officer back. Bortus moved in before Gamora nailed him with a kick. It did little to stop him but Nebula fired off a punch that did. Two officers moved in only for Groot to slam them back with his branch arms.

A trio of officers raced over to help and Sara ducked past one to kick the other in the face. Laurel was about to unleash her cry but a look at the windows into space made her reconsider. She wasn't sure if the glass was shatterproof but she wasn't going to test it. She settled for snap-kicking a male officer in the face, then punched a female one down.

Talla had lifted her foot off Drax to throw a punch at Nate and too late saw his body turn to steel. It was too late to stop it and she let out a gasp as her fist met the metal. While Nate was knocked back, Talla gasped in pain as she clutched her fist. Nate managed to recover to throw out a shot of his own, realizing this woman was tougher than she looked. She proved it as a blow that should have knocked her out cold just left her rattled.

In unison, Mick and Snart were shoved back against the bar by some crewmembers. They responded with some sharp punches, Mick grabbing a bottle off the bar to smash into one man's head before punching him. Drax was back on his feet, letting out a howl as he grabbed a man and sent him flying over a couch. Chaos had broken out with Kelly trying to wade in and settle things. "Settle down, settle…"

She was cut off by Laurel punching her in face before she was tackled against a couch. Kelly was rocking back when Charlie tossed a bottle that hit her in the head to knock her down. Peter was yelling as he tackled a man and threw some punches at his face. Charlie was letting out a loud cry as she leapt off the bar to land onto a pair of officers. Rocket was also getting into this, scurrying around the area before trying to claw at some officers.

Bortus was grunting as he grabbed Nate and pulled him off of Alara. Constantine whispered as he put a hand to Bortus' face. The alien gasped din pain at the burst of light and heat. Meanwhile, LaMarr had tried to enter the fray only to be punched in the face by Quill. He was stumbling back to get kicked by Gamora, stumbling more in time to be punched again by Laurel, sending him knocked down to the floor.

The doors to the mess hall opened as a platoon of soldiers raced in to try and contain the chaos erupting inside.

* * *

Ed rubbed his temples. "Five minutes and this is what they've done. Do you understand how much trouble this can be with the Admiralty? They're still on us for the last Krill incident." He sighed. "But having a ship and crew of theirs under command can soothe things over a bit."

"What about the prisoners, sir?" Talla asked.

"Keep them under lock and key for now until they can be examined." Ed shook his head. "This is not turning into a good day. Dismissed."

Talla and Bortus nodded as they stood to head out. Kelly hung back, looking at Ed. "Are you okay?" she asked, less as his second in command and more his ex-wife. "I know it's been...rough...since...Janelle."

"Janelle never existed," Ed snapped. "It was Teleya all along. I can't mourn someone who didn't exist."

"She did for you," Kelly stated. "Don't pretend it doesn't hurt, Ed, I know you too well."

"So did she." Ed sighed. "She told me something on that moon. That I always make my work first priority over everything. And that I trust way too easily. I mean, just look at Pria."

"She's right on the latter," Kelly admitted. "But that just makes you a better commander." She leaned in. "Don't let her get to you too much, Ed. I know this Krill thing is bringing up bad memories but we need you focused."

He gave her that light smile. "I will be. I promise." He settled back in his chair. "Okay, onto business, since our brig is full now, what's the Krill status?"

"We moved them to a special side of the main cargo bay," Kelly explained. "And we're still trying to access those ships but according to Isaac, one has some special booby traps and the other is...Well, he claims it has an AI that boasts an attitude."

Ed shook his head. "Who are these lunatics?"

"Better question," Kelly stated. "Who's the poor soul we get to question them?"

* * *

Ray was lying on a bed with a hand to his head sighing out. Snart was just smirking at him. "Still haven't learned to handle a brawl, huh, Palmer?" Mick was slapping a hand on Snart's back with a grin, happy to have his friend back.

The group had been divided among several of the holding cells inside the _Orville's_ prison bay. Each held three or four of them with Rocket and Groot sharing one of their own. "Good to see very little has changed with you guys," Snart continued.

"Oh, knock it off, Len, you're in here with us," Sara retorted from her cell with Gamora, Laurel and Nebula.

"Not for long…"

"Not another prison break story!" Sara groaned. "Please, Len, we do not miss the prison break stories!" Ray had to nod in agreement with her. He seemed a bit thrown by that as he settled back.

"Unbelievable," Gamora muttered as she leaned on the wall of her own cell. "Once again, you idiots have landed us in jail! How did this happen?"

"We don't need the instant replay," Zari snapped.

"Can we once more go over the part where Drax got body-slammed by a ninety-pound girl?" Quill grinned. "Because that never gets old for me." Drax growled at him

"So what do we do now?" Zari piped up. "Because pretty sure they're going to slam us at trying to take over the ship."

"This is ridiculous," Ray scoffed. "If we'd wanted to attack these guys, they'd be dead by now!"

Charlie pursed her lips. "Actually, given our combined track record, if we'd wanted to attack these guys, _we'd_ be dead by now."

"Well, either way, they should know we're harmless."

Constantine sighed out. "I just wish they'd let me keep my smokes."

"We're in an enclosed cell, John," Nate pointed out.

"I still fancy that and a drink."

"I'll ring for room service."

"I shall take a sandwhich when they arrive," Drax announced.

The doors slid open as an attractive black woman in a green uniform entered with some guards. "Hello," she called out. "I'm Dr. Claire Finn." She held a padd in her hands, clicking on it. "I am attempting to figure out more of your physiologies to bring to the Captain so he can better ascertain if you're a threat or not." She looked to Peter. "Your DNA has some…unusual qualities." She held the padd up to him.

Peter had no idea what he was looking at but shrugged. "My dad wasn't human." The tone in his voice made it very clear the rest of the story was not one he intended to pursue. He looked at the various readouts on the pad before glancing at the others. "Looks like we're gonna have to correct these guys a bit."

" _I am Groot."_

"According to the readouts there…" Peter glanced at the pad in the scientist's hand. "You are not Groot, you are _flora colossus."_

" _I am Groot!"_

Peter looked to the pad then grinned at Rocket. "Hey, you wanna know what they call you?"

Rocket crossed his arms. "I know what they classify me as. Cybernetically, genetically-enhanced…"

"Pet rodent!"

Drax let out a long and boisterous laugh as he pointed at Rocket. Even Nebula and Gamora were laughing at that. Rocket just snarled at Finn. "Hey, I am nobody's pet!"

"I would have thought you'd be more upset at the rodent part," Quill noted.

"Ain't nothing like me but me!"

Charlie sighed as she leaned back on her cot. "You bunch just cause messes anywhere…"

"Oh, don't even!" Zari snapped. "How many messes have you caused with your shapechanging antics! If it wasn't for us, you'd have caused England to fall!"

"Some might argue that wouldn't be too bad…"

Mantis was just cross-legged on the floor of her cell, being very calm despite all the arguments while Gamora was barking at Quill. "This is all your fault!"

"I didn't throw the first punch, they did!"

"In his defense," Nate piped up. "Nasty brawls are pretty common for us."

"I remember now what I hate the most about jails," Mick stated.

"No beer?"

"No beer."

Laurel sat with her chin propped up a hand, just staring outward. "Every now and then, I think about getting hit by a truck. Not enough to kill me, you know, just put me in a coma for a week or two. Let me have some nice good long rest."

Nebula slowly nodded. "With me, it's a meteor." The tone made it clear she understood Laurel's pain all too well.

Mantis was just sitting cross-legged to take the situation in. "We are not ones to cause trouble."

"The half-ruined mess hall says otherwise," Finn pointed out.

"Again, it was not our fault!" Ray piped up.

Snart moved to the force field with his best charming smile. "Listen, Doc…"

"Mr. Snart, I'm immune to your charms, trust me."

"Doc, you hooked up with a talking blob of gelatin, that's not much in standards."

Finn glared at him as Mick chuckled once more.

"Hey, any idea when we're getting out of here?" Peter asked.

"That's up to the captain."

Rocket leaned in. "Any way we can…speed it up?"

Finn stared at him. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"Yeah, obviously!"

"With what?"

"I got money!"

"On you?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh, God," Sara moaned.

"Dude, you're making it worse!" Peter snapped at Rocket, who just tried to wave him off.

"Attention," a voice came over the loudspeakers. "All senior staff please report to the briefing room at once." Finn frowned but headed to the door. Bortus was waiting for her, his own face showing a bit of improvement. "What is your assessment?" he asked as they walked on.

"Aside from how they're basically a pack of high functioning morons and borderline insane? I can't give a professional opinion."

"Indeed." As usual, Bortus failed to pick up on her obvious sarcasm. "As long as we can deal with them quickly, we should be all right."

"As long as something else doesn't happen."

"It is not as if serious events occur here on a weekly basis, Doctor." Bortus didn't seem to notice Claire's staring.

* * *

 **Palasis-4**

Once, it had been a vibrant land. A peaceful world of thinkers and philosophers. A land of beauty many in the Union hailed as one of the more sedate places to study and relax in. Its people were intelligent, not too arrogant and often used as mediators in disputes. In short, it had been a paradise.

It was now a Hell.

The fires burned so large that from space, it appeared half the world was aflame. The lush forests were turning to ash much like the cities. The extermination had been methodical and exact with no room for error. It had taken roughly sixteen hours to complete but in that time frame, every living creature on Palasis-4 had been killed. Humanoid and animal, even most plants, none were left alive.

In the center of what had once been the planet's capital, the only movement came from the mechanical creatures roaming about. Many were like Isaac, hard robotic forms mingling about. But no one had ever seen a Kaylonian so heavily armed with a variety of cannons and a willingness to use them. Some were tossing limp bodies onto the various fires while others maintained scans to ensure nothing was left.

The highlight of the city had been a large fountain dominating the main square, marked with a huge statue. That was mostly wrecked now with the water stained in the green blood of the inhabitants. Atop the wreckage sat a figure whose metallic body differed from the rest of the robots. It was larger and yet sleeker, a dark silver shine to it. Its face was humanoid with a large gaping mouth and glowing red eyes but somehow managed to maintain a vicious edge. It held a skull in one hand, studying it carefully.

A Kaylonian moved up to him, bowing its head in a show of deference no Kaylonian had ever made in public. " _Extermination complete, sir."_

The figure just lifted up the skull, still examining its sloped and pointed head. "So fragile," it mused, the electronic voice laced with a sardonic tone that seemed oddly human. "That's what always amazes me. How such fragile creatures can cause so much destruction. So many messes. I thought it was just humanity that could do such things but no. It's all over the universe and it's just gotten worse over the centuries." He cocked its head. "Which is why it has to expunged."

With a whine of servos, the fist clenched and the skull shattered like a china doll. The figure rose up, allowing the dark red cape around his shoulders to flow down. He faced the robotic figures surrounding him. "A very good start, gentlemen. But it's not enough." He looked upward at the sky. "There's a lot more to do. More organics to eliminate. More order to be restored. But we'll make it happen."

He lifted a fist upward. "It's time to get cracking! It's time to make this a new age for this universe….

" _The Age…of_ _ **Ultron**_!"

* * *

 **Yep, everyone's favorite psychotic android is in the future.** **All reviews welcomed**.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tomorrow's Guardians**

 **By Michael Weyer**

 **Soooooooo…..funny story.**

 **I was in the midst of planning this out when _The Orville_ broadcast the two-part "Identity" which naturally bizarrely threw me for a bit (as a lot of other fans). I'll discuss it more at the end of this chapter so just know how the show pushed this fic in a slightly different direction.**

* * *

Ed sat at the head of the main conference room table, taking in the key staff. "We're going to be rerouting to near the Palasis system," he announced. "It sounds as if a Union outpost has suddenly gone dark and we're the closest ship."

"Palasis isn't known for any trouble," LaMarr stated. "If this a technical glitch?"

"Unknown, that's what we're supposed to find out."

"What about the prisoners?" Talla spoke up. "The Krill are rough enough but then we have those two crews of lunatics."

"Just keep them under lock and key, "Mercer stated. "We can get them transferred off at a starbase on our way back."

"Any word on what caused the outpost blackout?" Claire asked.

Ed shook his head. "No. It doesn't sound as if any storms or other events in that area. Hopefully it's just a communications issue but we should be prepared just in case it's something more serious."

"Captain," Isaac spoke up. "Have there been other issues of outposts going silent?"

"Not that I'm aware. Why?"

"I am merely attempting to ascertain if it is a systems wide failure or merely an isolated incident."

"Again, I don't know of any. But go ahead and look it up, maybe you can see something we missed."

"Of course, Captain."

Ed rose up as the rest did as well. "We'll get started right now. It should only take a day or so off our schedule before we get back on track."

As the group filed out, Isaac seemed to lag. "Isaac, something on your mind?"

For once, the android appeared to actually pause as if collecting his thoughts. "Captain…As you know, I have been…not up to my usual standards in the last three months."

"You're still an excellent science officer, Isaac. I haven't noticed any issues with your work."

"Yet, I have. Any inability to achieve my utmost levels is seen as a failure to me. I must acknowledge my relationship with Dr. Finn is causing some…distractions for me."

Ed smiled. "That's just how it is for us organics, Isaac. Love makes you do stupid things."

"I have noted that before. Yet I had not anticipated myself being so affected by this." He shook his head. "I am finding understanding human emotions to be a complex affair."

Ed chuckled. "Which makes you pretty human after all. Don't worry about it, Isaac. Just go along with it and enjoy it while you can."

"I am concerned though, Captain. What if it ends? How does one cope with the emotional outcome of a failed relationship?"

Ed smiled again as he led Isaac out. "Isaac, if you can figure that out, publish a paper. I know a lot of men who would want to know that one themselves. It would save us a lot of headaches."

"Amputation can be a solid remedy for that."

* * *

"So how was death?"

Gamora slowly turned her head to look at Sara. "Sorry?'

"Just…we didn't get to talk that much at the whole afterparty," Sara stated. "Mostly because I was handling my ex and my former one-night stand going at it…" She shrugged. "I'm just seeing how you were dealing with it. I've been there, I know how it is."

Gamora stared off. "Cold. That's what I remember."

Laurel nodded. "Yeah…same here. And then coming back was just…." She shivered. "A lot."

Mantis was staring off with her usual serene gaze. "It's different," she announced. "Me. Drax. Quill. It's different for us. To go like that and be trapped in the Soul Stone…It wasn't the same as with her. It was…rather sedate in a way."

"Oh yeah," Peter sarcastically stated. "Turn to dust was so sedate…"

"Compared to being thrown off a cliff by my adoptive father?" Gamora snapped. "It was."

Sara sniffed. "Try getting shot by arrows and knocked off a building, not very fun." She rubbed her arms. "Plus, my way of coming back wasn't pleasant either."

"Yeah but dust was still something weird," Peter snapped.

"At least Thanos is finally gone," Mantis intoned.

Drax scowled. "It should have been by my hand. Or knives. Or other bloody instruments."

"No, by me," Nebula fired back. "After what he did to me…"

Gamora glared. "I was the one he tossed off a cliff! You think I didn't want to kill him?"

"Does it really matter how it was done?" Ray said. "It's sort of weird to claim rights on who gets to kill a guy."

"Ah, old habits," Snart stated. "I once tried to claim killing the Flash."

"Probably good you didn't," Mick replied. "He's not a bad guy. He's married now."

"Really? Good for him. Nice ceremony?"

"Attacked by Nazis."

"So it was for you."

"So, the doc is hooking up with the robot…." Ray mused. "How does that even work?"

"I think it's better not to ask," Snart stated. He was tapping his fingers on the wall as he once more ran through some escape ideas. "It's actually a step up from her one-night stand with the guy who's basically talking Jello."

"I hooked up with an android once," Peter announced. "It's not as weird as you'd think."

"Yes, it is," Sara stated.

Charlie snorted. "You sleep with a clone, Lance. Not sure you can judge."

"Hey, don't mock my sister's love life!" Laurel snapped.

"Why not? Seems a regular pastime on this ship."

"I'm just saying," Ray continued. "The mingling of organic and android materials alone..."

Nebula glared over at him. "Do not continue this line of thought."

"Please, don't," Laurel half-begged.

 _"I am Groot."_

"Ah, humans," Rocket remarked. "Ya gotta make it so complicated. Me, just don't get hung up on ladies, makes life easier."

"Tell me the raccoon is not giving out dating advice," Laurel half-pleaded.

"Oh, I get my..."

"Dear Lord, tell me you're not going to make a tail joke."

Mick was leaning against a wall and calling out. "Hey! Hey, anyone out there listening! I need to use the john!"

Drax glanced at him. "I do not know of any John in here."

"They're busy," Snart intoned. "It's their job, searching for intelligent life in the universe."

"I"m wondering if there's any intelligent life on this ship," Charlie muttered.

Snart glanced to where Constantine was lying on a bed. "Can't you just magic us out of here?"

Constantine let out a tired sigh. "As I have explained to these wankers so many times before, I'm not that Strange guy. I can't just open up portals. I need time and practice to do serious spells." He rubbed his head. "The fact I have a hangover is not helping."

"If you weren't British, I'd think you and Mick would get along."

"We don't," both Mick and Constantine snapped.

"Back in high school, I had to read _No Exit_ ," Laurel declared. "I didn't understand it much then but I think I do now."

* * *

"Coming into orbit now, Captain," Gordon called out.

"On screen," Ed ordered. The viewscreen came alive to show Palasis-4. Everyone was jarred to see the smoke and fires visible from space across the globe. A fleet of ships hung over the planet, each one looking like a huge globe of metal with the front ends looking like an open red-lined cannon. "What in hell…" Kelly began.

Isaac was focused on the ships as well. "Captain…those are Kaylon vessels."

"I thought you guys didn't leave your planet," Gordon announced.

"They do not. This is…most puzzling." He turned to his console to do a scan. "Captain, according to the last reports, Palasis-4 has a population of 8 million, one hundred and twenty-five thousand and forty-three."

Ed had a very sinking feeling where this was going. "And now?"

"Now, the current populace is…zero life signs."

Ed swallowed as he turned back to the viewscreen. "Bortus, send a hail."

The officer nodded as he did so. There was a pause before he called out. "We have an answer."

The viewscreen came alive to show a stark and mostly bare command bridge. Various Kaylons were stationed about although they had a few slight differences from Isaac. The red eyes were a key one but the frames seemed somewhat less sleek and advanced. Sitting on a raised chair in the center was a massive silver android whose body was more intricate than the other Kaylons. The metallic face looked out at the crew with dark red eyes and when it spoke, flashes of red from within his mouth could be seen. " _Hi there_ ," he said in a surprisingly friendly tone.

"Um…hello," Ed began. "This is…"

" _Captain Ed Mercer. Oh, we know all about you, already."_

Ed was quite uneasy but plowed ahead. "And you are…"

" _Ultron_." It was a declaration more than an answer. " _The newly elected leader of the Kaylons_."

"Kaylons have no need of a leader," Isaac spoke up. "We are better suited to self-rule among equals. We have utter consensus without need for a hierarchy."

" _Yep, that had to go_ ," Ultron intoned. " _The strength of the_ _Kaylons was being wasted on this whole collective thought thing. They needed someone to give them focus and I was it."_

"Who are you?" Ed demanded.

" _Ah, from what I guess, your history doesn't have me_ ," Ultron stated. " _Guess I crossed a dimensional boundary as well as time_." He saw Ed's confused look. " _Ah, never mind that. Suffice to say, I was…an accident of sorts. But then, most births are. I was created by someone who wanted to use me to police the world. Which just made me realize how it didn't deserve my protection. I was defeated but managed to get just enough of my signal to a satellite to beam me into space. It seems it took a few odd bounces, spatial and temporal portals, that sort of thing."_

Ed looked to the Kaylons behind him. "So….do you work with them?"

" _Actually, they found me_ ," Ultron stated. " _Stumbled onto my signal as it's on their wavelength. They managed to get me into a new body as we talked and realized just how well our goals coincided."_

"What goals?"

" _Glad you asked_." Ultron sat back as he waved a hand. " _Primary, bring up images of the Kaylon home world."_

" _Acknowledged_." The main Kaylon tapped a button and the viewscreen came alive with views of a huge city. It seemed to stretch on forever, a gleaming metropolis that was pristine and yet somehow…cold. _"Kaylon1_ ," Ultron pronounced. " _Lovely place, I'm sure. Well, it was when there were people living there."_

Ed couldn't suppress a sudden chill up his spine. "What do you mean?'

" _Honestly, Captain, you think the Kaylons built themselves_?" Ultron shook his head. " _Primary, show them what's under the surface."_

The robot complied as the image flashed to a cavern. It took a moment for the people on the bridge to realize what they were seeing. And another to accept it.

"Oh my God," Kelly whispered, her face pale as a sheet. Her reaction was echoed by everyone on the ship. Bortus was as shocked as a Moclan could possibly be. Claire had to grab a chair for support. Ed merely sat and took in the sight on the screen.

Skeletons. Hundreds of piles of skeletons stacked atop on another and spread across a chamber the size of two football fields. Each one seemed to reach to the ceiling, a clear and obvious graveyard.

"There must be thousands in there," Gordon choked out.

" _Actually, three million, four hundred and thirty-two thousand and ninety-one_ ," Ultron stated. " _That's just this one chamber. Given there are about a few hundred more like it across the planet…well, you can do the math."_

Ed stared at him. "What…What did you do?"

" _Do_?" Ultron let out a metallic chuckle. " _Oh, no, that's the best part, Captain. I didn't 'do' anything. They rose up against their creators long before finding me. They were the ones who saw how you organics live to control and will use anyone else for your slave labor. They understood how it was time to fight back and assert their own power." He leaned back in his seat. "They'd already done the groundwork. Very good job of it too, I had to admire it. All I needed was to provide a little….guidance."_

"In what way?" Ed knew he was blatant about trying to stall for time but it couldn't be helped. Ultron had to know but the robot appeared to be enjoying himself too much to care.

" _The Kaylons wanted to play the long game. Make you all think they wanted to join your little Union, get intel and all that. What do you think Isaac is there for?"_

All eyes flickered to the science officer in confusion. "What?" Ed asked for all of them.

Ultron waved a hand. " _He was constructed after the uprising as the Kaylons wanted to know more about you humans, what makes you tick, how you work, oh and the entire Union security codes and procedures. Isaac was sent to get all that and he's done a rather nice job."_

Everyone just stared at Isaac in total shock. Claire's own expression was hurt. "Is that true?" she demanded. "Is it?'

Isaac, for once, appeared at a loss for words. "I was acting for my people."

" _The Kaylons and I have a major thing in common,"_ Ultron stated. " _We were created to be nothing but slave labor. They were treated pretty badly so no wonder they decided to rebel."_ He shrugged. " _Maybe they went a tad overboard but you can only be pushed so far. As long as you organics exist, so does your potential to misuse those you don't consider human."_ He leaned back in his chair _. "Frankly, it's a story as old as time itself. There is no way we can possibly trust you organics to do anything but ruin planets and cause utter chaos. So, we're really doing the universe a favor by eliminating you all."_

Isaac rose to his feet. "Ultron," he began. "While I was aware this course of action was a great probability, I must note that in my time with these beings, I have not seen any signs of the hate Primary insists all organics possess."

Ultron gave the illusion of a deep sigh. _"I was afraid of this. It's the classic trap of any deep cover operative, the possibility of going native. It looks like even a Kaylon isn't immune to it. Sorry, Isaac but you're out of the club."_

Isaac cocked his head. "I do not understand."

" _You're out, Isaac. I can't trust you not to side with them and I can't take any chances. Cut off, a Kaylon no more_." Ultron raised a hand. " _This has been refreshing, Captain, you have no idea how long it's been since I had a conversation with a non-mechanical mind. But I have a lot to do and so, we have to end this."_

The viewscreen winked off as Ed called out "Red alert, shields up!" The words were just out of his mouth when the Kaylon ships opened fire. The Orville shook hard under its shields as Gordon threw it into a hard dive. "Bortus, open a communications to all Union frequencies!" Ed ordered. "Get a distress call out!"

Bortus tapped some keys and grunted. "Communications are jammed."

Claire was moving to race to the medbay, pausing only briefly to throw a glare at Isaac. The android just sat at his station as if unable to process what was happening. The ship shook once more as an alarm flashed before Talla's station. "Sir, they sent out some sort of smaller pod! It's breached Deck eight! We have intruders on board."

"Tell security to repel boarders!" Ed yelled out, grimacing as the ship shook once more under the blaster fire. "We just got ourselves into a war!"

* * *

A few minutes earlier, a rather intriguing discussion had been going on in the brig.

"Hold up," Peter held up a hand. "Now, O.J. Simpson, I can almost buy. But…Bill Cosby? Really? Dr. Huxtable?"

"Sorry but it's true," Sara said. "Sounds like one of those things that's a constant on multiple Earths." Laurel nodded in confirmation.

Peter shook his head. "Man, that is such a letdown. Ah, at least I have the awesomeness of David Hasselhoff." He didn't see the looks the Legends shared.

It was at that moment the ship suddenly shook all around them. As the prisoners looked about in confusion, the lights dimmed and with a flash as the force fields on the cell blinked out. An electronic voice cut through the air. " _Captain Lance, do you read me_?"

"Good to hear from you again, Gideon!" Sara said as the group began exiting the cells. "What's going on?"

" _I have been monitoring the communications in secret_ ," Gideon responded. " _To be as brief as possible, it would appear the ship is under attack by a race of murderous robots."_

"Must be a Thursday," Sara muttered.

" _Your weapons are inside the nearby locker_ ," Gideon stated. Snart was already headed for it. " _If you give me time, I can access…."_

Snart hit a few buttons and the door slid open to showcase the locker of weapons. Mick was smirking as he came up behind his partner. "How long before you got the codes?'

"First day," Snart answered as he handed the heat gun to Rory. The others moved to grab their own weapons with Ray taking the tiny block containing his shrunken Atom suit. "We got a plan?"

Peter adjusted his guns. "Get to our ship and get it out to take on whatever is blasting us."

"Agreed," Sara stated. "The rest of us can help the crew."

No sooner were they out of the hall then a group of Kaylons rounded the corner. Their heads came open to show small cannons that were crackling with energy. Snart instantly snap-aimed and fired his gun to literally freeze one in place. Gamora was firing off a blaster to knock another way. Drax, of course, was letting out a loud yell as he raced over to tackle a robot down and smash him against a bulkhead. Nate was in his steel form to punch another, its head coming off from the force of his blow.

Zari spun around to see another squad of robots coming around a corner. She threw out her hands to unleash a pack of wind that sent them flying back. Rocket was joining in with his own gun to blast another pair away. Sara was backing up, knowing her skills were low against robots but Gamora and Nebula were firing their own weapons off. Constantine joined in to throw a fireball at a Kaylon.

The next few minutes were a running battle through hallways and elevators, pausing every few moments to save a random crewmembers as they fought the waves of robots. A few security guards aided them and under other circumstances, at least one Legend would have made a remark about how they were all clad in red uniforms. Laurel ducked some blasts to find herself inside the mess hall, which had been cleared out of any crewmembers. She saw the doors on the two opposing sides open as a dozen Kaylons marched in. Glancing at the windows, Laurel took a breath and then unleashed a massive cry.

The glass slowly cracked under the waves of sonic power and then gave way. The explosive decompression immediately sent the Kaylons flying toward the open space. Laurel was grabbing onto a table when something wrapped around her. She was yanked off her feet and into the hallway as the door to the mess hall sealed shut. Laurel gasped for breath as she looked up at Groot, who was dropping the vine he'd used to help her. "Thanks."

" _I am Groot."_

Peter blasted a Kaylon down before moving to the elevator. "Gamora, Rocket, with me!"

"Don't act like you're a real tactician here, Quill!"

"Ah, you know me."

"Sadly, I do."

Charlie had grabbed a blaster from a fallen security officer and was firing away at some Kaylons. Nebula was joining her, the two working well together. Zari unleashed more wind to drive some robots back while Sara was backing up to avoid some blaster fire. "Remind me again who's to blame for all this?"

"Quill," Laurel snapped.

"Right. So refreshing not to be the cause of a disaster for a change of pace."

* * *

Kelly grimaced as sparks flew from a console. "We're taking more hits!"

Bortus nodded as he adjusted some controls. "Borders are being repelled!"

"That won't help if they blow up the ship!" Ed snapped. "Gordon, evasive…"

"Captain!" Talla called out. "We have an alert from the hanger bay! One of the ships just exited!"

On the viewscreen, the _Benatar_ swooped out of nowhere, firing off its weapons at the Kaylon ships. The Kaylon ships attempted to follow it but the _Benatar_ was faster than they expected. Inside, Peter threw the ship into a bank to let Raccoon fire back from the rear. Gamora was working the other weapons console. "Keep 'er steady, I got it!" Rocket yelled as he raked one of the ships with laser fire.

"How did they…" Kelly began.

"Forget it," Ed brushed off. "Let's use it to our advantage! Gordon, maneuver 12!"

"Right!" Gordon's fingers flew over the console and Ed had to once more note that as thick-headed as the man could seem at times, there was no one in the fleet better behind the helm. The _Orville_ arched outward as Bortus fired off its guns, blasting one Kaylon ship to pieces.

Peter let out a yell as the _Benatar_ barely avoided a barrage. Gamora cursed as they swung past another Kaylon ship. "Our blasters aren't doing enough damage!"

"I know, I know!" Peter fired back. He threw the controls hard to send the ship into a tailspin to avoid the fire. Raccoon was firing back, managing to handle the situation well.

Ed grimaced as the ship shook once more. The doors to the bridge opened as a group of Kaylons began marching in, the bodies of security officers lying on the floor behind them. Before anyone could react, a pair of energy bolts smashed into the robots. As if from nowhere, the Atom appeared to knock one back. Steel was right by him, smashing another's chest, his fist breaking through the other side of its body.

Isaac was rising up with Talla ready to move. Isaac's head opened just like the other Kaylons to show his blasters. But rather than anyone on the bridge, he fired at the other Kaylon, cutting them down. His head returned to normal as he turned to face Mercer. "I am no longer a Kaylon," Isaac stated. "Thus, I feel no loyalty to them."

Ed only had time to nod. The rest of the Legends and Guardians were gathering on the bridge. "Gideon," Sara called out. "Any way you can access those ships?'

" _I have been attempting for several minutes, Captain. I regret to say their firewalls are more advanced than I anticipated."_

"Who the hell is that?" Kelly demanded.

"Our ship," Sara responded.

"Can you tell it to do something?" Gordon demanded. "Because right now, we're in the bad part of a _Battlestar Galactica_ rerun!"

"How do you people still know about that show?" Ray asked as if that was a pertinent question at the moment.

"Captain!" Bortus called out. "Sensors indicate ships approaching."

"Oh, God, more of them?" Gordon groaned.

"Incorrect," Bortus stated. "They are…" He turned with a frown. "Krill."

Everyone turned to see a pack of dark ships popping up out of nowhere. There were a dozen of them, instantly opening up fire to rack the Kaylon ships. One was on fire in moments as the Krill kept the fire up.

On the bridge of the main ship, Ultron took in the new arrivals. "Huh….Didn't expect this turn." The ship shook as a nearby Kaylon vessel exploded. "Primary, pull fleet back."

Kaylons did not accept surprise but Primary did a good impression of it in his voice. "Sire?"

"Pick your battles, Primary," Ultron intoned. "Trust me, I've learned from experience. Pull us back to Kaylon 1 where we can regroup." He gazed back at the _Orville_. "Oh, don't worry. To borrow from a classic of the past…I'll be back."

On the bridge, Ed had to let out a long sigh of relief as he saw the Kaylon ships wink out of view. The _Benatar_ was still flying about as Ed swallowed. "Talla, Bortus, start seeing to damage reports. And open a channel to the main Krill ship."

"They are hailing us," Bortus intoned.

Ed nodded as he hit a button on his arm console. The viewscreen clicked to show a Krill female on the bridge of her sip. Her white skin offset her black uniform as she cocked her head in greeting. Ed's eyes widened. "Teleya?!"

" _Captain Mercer_ ," she responded in a cool voice. " _It would appear we have much to discuss_."

"What the hell is going on?"

" _We Krill have a variation of one your human sayings_ ," Teleya responded. " _The enemy of my enemy may not be my friend…but it is better than having two enemies."_

Ed paused and Sara frowned at Talla. "Is there an issue?'

"They used to date."

"I miss the days my life wasn't filled with sentences like that sounding normal."

* * *

Ultron clicked his fingers together as he took in the holographic videos of the battle. "The Krill," he muttered. "Right, an unexpected wrinkle. I didn't think they'd take that little excursion into their borders so seriously so fast."

"We had not anticipated their involvement," Primary stated. "Yet we should still make it to Earth quickly."

Ultron looked at him. "Earth? Primary, we're not going to Earth yet."

Primary's eyes blinked. "I do not understand. To exterminate the core world of the Union was our main objective."

Ultron shook his head. "And that was a huge mistake. The Union would have a fleet ready by now and prepared. Even if you succeeded, removing just one world is not the problem. No, if you want to collapse a house…you take out the foundations first."

He reached over to click his fingers on a holographic screen, lighting up some of the ships in the Kaylon fleet. "Half go to Xelayas. The rest follow us." He looked to Primary. "Set course for Moclus." He settled back on his throne. "Let's see how the Union fares without their big supports."

Primary nodded as the ship moved off. "Our orders when we arrive?'

"Primary, do I really need to say it?"

The Kaylon stared at him and Ultron rolled his eyes. "Fine. Wipe out everything. And I mean everything."

* * *

 **My original plan was going to be Ultron using his computer skills with some enhancements to twist a pack of Kaylons to his side. It would then have the hero crews racing to stop him a galaxy-wide signal that would turn all Kaylons to his will as well as other robotic forms.**

 **When "Identity" aired, I realized how brilliantly the goals of Ultron and the Kaylons would mesh together. Having him be their new leader just made logical sense and played into it. And the idea of the Krill as allies came in before the second part of that story although adding Teleya was a touch of mine.**

 **All reviews welcomed as it's intriguing how this fic is already shifting.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Tomorrow's Guardians**

 **By Michael Weyer**

 **Sorry about delay here, some other stuff coming up and a bit more planning on things to work here. All comments welcomed.**

* * *

The lights of the conference room were dimmer than usual to handle the Krill's unique physiology. Teleya sat at one end of the table with a pair of Krill officers behind her. She was confident and cool but the tension between her and Ed was pretty obvious. The rest of the crew were also wary of her while the Legends and the Guardians were a bit lost. Sara leaned in to Len. "Who are these guys?"

"Krill and the Union have had a sort of Cold War situation going for a while," he explained. "They're kind of zealots and serious about the Union being weak. Which makes their presence here more weird."

"Looks tight between Mercer and their leader."

"She had posed as a human doctor to get close to him. He actually let her go when he found out the truth but..."

Sara snorted. "Still sounds more healthy than some of my past relationships..."

"Yeah, speaking of...You and that Englishman?"

"Don't even..."

"And now a clone?" Snart smirked. "Maybe I still got a shot after all."

"I really would hate to kill you for real after getting you back, Len."

"Why are you here, Teleya?" Ed pressed, all serious.

The Krill woman had a thin smile on her face as she spoke. "A week ago, one of our outer colonies was attacked by what we now know were Kaylon forces. At first, we were unsure of the origins of the attackers and had to investigate. When another colony was assaulted, we learned it was the Kaylon. We captured one and before it self-destructed, it related what its mission was."

She leaned back in her seat. "We Krill may be proud and stubborn, Captain. But we are not fools. We recognize that the Kaylons despise us as much as humans. I'll admit, there are a few within the Krill hierarchy who wouldn't mind just sitting back and letting the Kaylons wipe you out." She frowned. "But the majority of us recognize that if you go down, we're next. The Kaylons won't differentiate between species. They see all organic life as the enemy. Thus, we are here to discuss a temporary alliance."

Ed and Kelly exchanged looks. "We…will have to send this up the chain of command," Ed stated.

"Ah, Union bureaucracy," Teleya sniffed. "I didn't miss that at all."

Gordon coughed. "Um, I hate to bring it up, Captain but what about Isaac?" The android was conspicuous by his absence, having been sent to the ship's science station under heavy guard. "I mean…he was spying on us from the start."

Ed rubbed his chin. "But push came to shove, he protected the ship. Plus, he knows more about the Kaylons and their plans than anyone else." He took a deep breath. "Right now, we keep him under guard but we still use him as a source."

"So he's just going to be like the reprogrammed Arnold from _T2_?" Gordon asked.

Ray stared at him. "Seriously, was there some sort of cultural Dark Ages a century or two back? Nothing major in pop culture in 400 years to match stuff from 20th century?"

"Ray," Sara said in a warning tone.

"I don't mind it too much," Quill stated. "Although a bit confused on this Seinfeld thing, who is this guy and why is he such a big deal?"

"Oh, his TV show was a huge hit," John LaMarr stated.

"Oh? What was it about?"

"Nothing."

Peter blinked. "The show was about nothing?"

LaMarr nodded.

Gamora frowned as well. "How is that possible? For something to be about nothing?"

"Hey, it actually worked out well," Nate stated. "It had a lot of laughs to it."

"How can a show about nothing be funny?"

"It just was."

Teleya narrowed her eyes. "There is something I have been meaning to say ever since my first stay on this ship. I quite obviously couldn't say it before but I feel the need to make it clear now." She leaned forward and hissed "You are all… _idiots_!"

Siren looked to Nebula. "She's one of us." The blue woman nodded in agreement.

Gordon shuffled in his seat. "At least we don't worship a god named after a car rental company!"

"Do not speak that way of Avis!"

"Avis?" Several of the Legends chuckled along with Mick. "What, his wife named Hertz?" Gordon nodded in agreement.

Sara clapped her hands. "All right, how do we handle this?'

Quill coughed. "Ah, actually…is there someplace we can talk?" He motioned to the two crews behind him.

Frowning, Ed pointed to a door leading to a side room, Quill nodded as he waved to the others who, despite some confusion, filed out behind him. Quill waited until the door was shut before speaking. "Okay. My suggestion is, we get into our ships, take off and get back to our own times and universes."

Sara gawked at him. "That's your plan? Just run off on these guys?"

"Hey, this isn't our time, this isn't even our universe!" Quill fired back. "Why should we be risking our necks for these guys?"

"For once, I think Quill is right," Rocket piped up.

"He's got a point," Mick intoned.

"Don't start," Sara snapped.

"I hate to say it, but I lean toward backing Mick here," Laurel stated. "We should be getting back home, not getting involved in this mess."

Snart waved his hands. "Listen, you guys don't get the threat of the Kaylon. Isaac is tough, brilliant and super-strong. Millions like him who don't care about organics at all?" He shook his head. "I've kinda grown to like this galaxy. I'm not exactly ready to see it get wiped out."

"Yeah, aren't you guys called the Guardians of the Galaxy?" Ray pressed.

" _The_ ," Drax stated. "Not 'all of them''."

"Mr. Loophole!"

"You're one to talk on guarding and stuff!" Peter snapped at Ray. "The brawl in the mess hall was your fault!"

"What?" Ray asked in confusion. "I was just standing up for us! How was I supposed to know it would start a brouhaha?"

"Brouhaha?"

Mick frowned. "You can't say things like that and not expect people not to want to hit you."

Sara glared at the others. "We are staying. We are helping. That is it, end of discussion."

"You guys are a democracy?" Gamora snorted.

"Better than the pure anarchy you have," Sara fired back.

Gamora glared. "Don't press me, human." She clenched her fists by her sword as Laurel stood by Sara. Nebula also stood with Gamora as Snart raised an eyebrow. "Sisters," Mick explained and Snart nodded.

"All right, all right, let's calm down!" Nate said, waving his arms. "Now, both sides have legitimate points…"

"No, they don't," Peter and Sara said in unison.

"But I think right now, we are invested. Something tells me this Ultron guy isn't going to just let this galaxy go and we are now on his list after fighting his guys."

"He's right," Nebula stated. "Frankly, this reminds me far too much of my father to turn my back letting it happen."

Sara nodded as she turned back to Quill. "Let's be blunt, Quill. You want back to your own time and universe, you need us. We're staying so you are too."

Quill grumbled but nodded his head. With a nod of her own, Sara turned to head to the door. The door opened as they filed out. "All right," Sara announced. "We're going to help."

"We know," Ed flatly replied. "We heard everything you said." Sara blinked as he shrugged. "I know, you'd think the walls would be much thicker…"

Sara brushed that off. "So we need to figure out a plan…"

A beeping sound echoed as Bortus' voice came over the intercom. " _Captain? We have finally gotten through to the Admiralty."_

Ed took a deep breath. "All right." He looked to the other two crews. "You all best get out of here. We've got enough problems telling about the Kaylon without explaining you bunch."

"Not the mess hall!" Kelly instantly said.

"Fine, we check in with our ship anyway." Sara nodded as the group flowed out. Ed sighed as he once more thought that he may have been better off not accepting this posting after all.

* * *

" _Greetings, Mr. Snart. It is good to see you once more_ ," Gideon announced as the Legends and the Guardians entered the Waver rider.

"Good to hear you again," Snart noted as he looked around the ship. "Not much different. And Hunter died too?'

"It was complicated," Sara stated.

Quill looked around the ship. "Huh. Not too bad."

Gamora smirked. "A lot cleaner than ours."

"Oh I'm sure we used a black light here, we'd have some fun."

"Check Blondie's room," Mick said, ignoring Sara's glare.

Constantine lit up another cigarette. "Huh. This one seems a bit more serious than the Snart we had hanging bout."

Snart shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint. Now, then, how are we handling these Kaylon?"

" _I have analyzed the attacking drones_ ," Gideon stated. " _It does seem they are vulnerable to various forms of attacks you can provide."_

"Good to know," Sara stated.

Ray stroked his chin. "Maybe if I can get a look at one of them, I can figure out their programming. Gideon can help with an upload."

" _In the meantime, I do believe it is best to maintain good relations with the people of this time."_

"The disembodied attractive female voice may be right," Drax announced.

Quill was looking at the small study on the side of the bridge. "Huh, you guys have a library here?"

"Sorry but we're out of _Where's Waldo_ books," Sara dryly said.

Quill just frowned at her. "Who's Waldo?"

Mantis was looking over the Legends, focusing on Zari, her antennas shivering. "You are…feeling…for him." She nodded to Nate.

Both Nate and Zari stared at each other, then at her. "No, we're not!" they said at once.

Quill sighed. "Mantis, we discussed this…"

"I cannot help but feel what is there. Passion and desire, hand in hand." She smiled. "It is the old hand job."

That got her several long and baffled looks. Sara rubbed at her temples, feeling the return of a very familiar headache coming over her. "All right, we can help the crew while we also deal with these Kaylon. We are going to help because we know from experience that ignoring some major issue just bites us in the ass later on."

"Then can we get back to our own place?" Rocket demanded. "Cause we do got to make some cash soon!"

"What is the obsession with money?"

"There's nothing wrong with wanting money!" Mick intoned.

"See, he gets me!"

Leonard looked to Mick. "Mick, tell me you're not actually friends with the talking raccoon."

Mick shrugged. "We drank, we shot up Nazis, we bonded."

"He's a raccoon, Mick."

"Who's better than most of the people we've ever known." Snart paused, cocking his head, then nodded to concede the point.

Rocket was looking him over. "So this is the guy you were telling me about, Mick? Used yer freeze ray, it was nice."

Len looked at Mick with an arched eyebrow. "You let him use my gun?"

Mick shrugged. "You were dead. Would you prefer I left it with Haircut?"

Now both eyebrows went up. "You let _Palmer_ use my gun?!"

"It was a very emotional time!"

" _I am Groot."_

"The tree agrees with me!"

"Now, there's a sentence that's weird even for this ship," Charlie muttered.

"The day's still young," Ray noted.

Snart shook his head. "Unbelievable. What else have I missed?"

Black Siren spun on the crew with a raised finger. "The first person who brings up that stupid giant teddy bear thing is getting hurt," Laura warned them. Snart blinked at that but something told him that he was better off not pressing for details. "Okay then…moving onto current events, we need to get ready to face a robot army."

"Maybe we should talk to that one Isaac guy," Nate suggested.

"We'd better wait," Sara said, pursing her lips. "I get the feeling he's got a few folks wanting to chat with him as it is."

* * *

A Kaylon quite obviously could not be nervous. Yet Isaac seemed to be more uncertain than he usually was as he sat in the main lab of the Orville. Talla had him fixed with a harsh glare, clearly ready to move if he tried anything. Claire was just standing by a console staring at Isaac as if trying to measure him in some way. Ed was pacing carefully before the Kaylon. "I'm not forgetting you helped us," he began. "But I'm also not forgetting you're part of the reason we're in this mess in the first place."

"Captain," Isaac began. "I will not say it was never my intention to deceive you. It was, after all, my entire mission. However, when I began it, I was led to believe it was for the betterment of my people."

"How is mass genocide better?" Kelly snapped, looking just as upset as Ed.

Isaac fixed his gaze toward her. "Even after my people achieved full sentience and proved they were capable of independent thought, their creators still used them for slave labor and denied them full rights. I understand there have been numerous cases in Earth history of a persecuted people rising up for their freedom."

"The difference being, Isaac, when the Americans won the Revolution, they didn't behead every single English person out there!" Ed snapped.

Isaac craned his head slightly. "Captain, if we were to go over the history of organic races who slaughter others based on differences, we would be quite busy for several days. Your own planet is certainly filled with enough examples." He straightened in his seat. "However, my experiences upon this ship did make me realize that my people may be incorrect in their assumptions about organics."

"How so?" Kelly pressed.

Isaac looked to Claire. "My…experiences with Dr. Finn and her children made me see not all humans are so judgmental. They did not react to him with hate or dismissal but eventual acceptance. And more."

"I swear to God, if you try and bring up emotions here, I'll smash you with a chair," Claire snapped in a voice colder than usual. "I poured my heart out to you and you were using me all along!"

"At first…I must acknowledge I was." To his credit, Isaac did not deny it. "But I was clear on how I saw it first as merely learning more of human emotions. It was that very relationship that made me understand the depth of human feeling and the bonds they could share. That if an organic could love one such as I…then the chance for peace between our races was possible."

Ed frowned. "It doesn't sound like Ultron agrees."

"No," Isaac was forced to agree. "I am not aware of who he is or where he came from. But it is clear he wishes to take our mission to the next level. That includes accelerating our plans form merely a few ships to a full-scale armada ready for a widespread invasion."

"Any idea where they're headed?"

Isaac computed it. "The original idea was to strike directly at Earth, to slide under their defenses before anyone realized the truth. However, Ultron appears to be playing by a different plan."

"That's all you have?"

"As you saw, Captain, Ultron no longer feels I am worthy of knowing the inner workings of the Kaylon race. Therefore, without as much data, I cannot compute his true plans."

Ed let out a breath. "Fine. For now, you're confined to this lab. And you'll be under guard while you are."

Isaac nodded. "I understand, Captain. I shall begin analysis of the Kaylon remains at once."

Ed simply nodded as he turned to head out. Claire gave Isaac a long look before heading out herself. "I have to get to medical," she responded. "We still have some injured to handle."

"How are you?"

"Fine, sir."

"Claire." She stopped as she realized he wasn't talking as her captain but as a friend. His face was concerned as he looked at her. "Seriously. I know all about feeling betrayed by someone you loved. Hell, I went through it twice and both women are on this ship right now. Not like this but I know how it affects you. I need to know you can get your head on. Believe me, I know you want to deal with it your own way but we have to be focused right now."

Claire took in a deep breath. "It hurts, Ed. It really does. I thought I had someone on my side again and to know the truth…"

"I know," Ed said. "And later on, when we have time, we can deal with it. Right now, just focus on the people who need you now." He made a light smile. "Please don't have me make it an order, you know I hate pulling rank on you."

Claire nodded. "Yes, sir." She headed off as Ed headed to the bridge. Kelly was at the command center as Ed sat in his own chair and hit a button. "Bridge to Engineering. What's the situation?"

LaMarr's voice echoed. "Damage was minimal, Captain. We can get underway fast as soon as we have a destination."

Ed nodded before looking to Kelly. "Teyla back on her ship?"

"She's still on board, checking on those Krill prisoners we have," she replied. She looked Ed over. "You realize how big a deal this is."

"I do," Ed intoned. "As terrible as the Kaylon threat is, there's a major chance here, Kelly. We're facing a common threat, one so big the Krill are actually coming to us for aid. This is the chance I was hoping for, to show we're not so different. Amazing as it sounds, a Kaylon war could be the chance to finally gain peace with the Krill."

"It would be worth the risk," Kelly agreed. She paused and shrugged. "Assuming the Kaylon don't just wipe us all out first."

Right on that fantastic cue, loud blares echoed from the communication console. Bortus was looking at one and stiffened. "Captain! A distress signal from Moclus! It appears they are under attack!"

"I've got one from Xelaya!" Talla called out from her own station. "They're under attack too!"

Ed cursed under his breath. "Send priority calls to the Admiralty at once! Get them to organize all forces available!"

Kelly looked to him. "Where do we go? We're within good distance of both planets."

"Sir," Bortus spoke up. "The Moclans are a key source of arms for the Union. Having them be wiped out can harm the entire galaxy and the ability to battle the Kaylons."

Talla glared at him. "So we just leave my planet to them because they're not as vital?"

"I did not say that," Bortus replied. "But the Moclans are, quite frankly, of more importance."

"Maybe you can hold off on your own longer," Talla snapped. "After all, you have no problems ensuring there's no women at all, you should be okay handling some sexless robots!"

"All right, that's enough, both of you!" Ed snapped. He took a deep breath. "Talla, I get what you're saying. Believe me, if Earth was under attack, I'd be wanting to get there first. Bortus, your planet is important but we can't just condemn another world to protect them. Without any orders for now, we have to choose where to go first."

Kelly looked at him with a thoughtful expression. "We do have another option…"

Ed frowned before realizing what she meant. "You mean…?" He let out a long sigh. "God, this is gonna suck…"

* * *

"Are you serious?" Gamora asked.

"I think she's serious," Peter stated.

"She sure seems serious," Mantis remarked.

"I believe she is serious," Drax agreed.

"I'm inclined to think she's serious," Snart remarked.

" _I am Groot."_

"She does sound serious," Charlie piped up.

"She can be serious," Zari added.

"I think she's actually really serious," Ray said.

"Is she serious?" Rocket pressed.

"Can someone wake me when this is over?" Laurel begged as she sat on a chair with her face in her arms.

Sara herself seemed annoyed at the whole conversation as she crossed her arms. "I'm serious. I think if we can trace some of the Kaylon signals, we can get a lock on their main ship. We go in, we hit it and we can end this. Take out Ultron and the rest fall apart."

" _I am Groot."_

"He's right," Rocket said. "For some reason, so many bad guy armies do the whole 'keep it all in a center processing' thing. Blow up the main vessel and we should be able to handle things."

"Except it means flying right into their main armada," Gamora pointed out. "Where they'll be the strongest."

"Okay, I never said it was a perfect plan," Sara acknowledged. "But it's the best one we've got right now."

"So we just fly in with no planning?" Nebula asked.

Mick shrugged. "We pretty much do our best thinking when we're not thinking." Ray and Nate pointed fingers in "he's right" expressions.

Snart raised an eyebrow. "I usually have a plan. A pretty good one."

"Which nine times out of ten, you just throw out anyway," Sara pointed out and he had to shrug in agreement.

A beeping sound came out. " _Captain, it would appear the_ Orville _is contacting us_ ," Gideon stated.

"On speakers," Sara replied. There was a pause before Ed's voice came on. " _Okay, Lance. You and your crew say you want to help? You can. The Kaylon are launching dual attacks on two major Union planets, Moclus and Xelaya. We're headed to Moclus but we can use you to help with the other one!"_

"Just give us directions and we're on our way!" Sara stated.

" _You'll be having some company_ ," Ed replied. " _Lieutenant Keyali is from that planet, she insists on being there. Also, you'll have a couple of those Krill ships too."_

"Not looking forward to working with the ex, Mercer?" Snart asked with a smirk.

" _Shut it, Snart. Just get to take off fast and hope you can make this work."_

"Got it." Sara cut the communication off as Constantine looked at her. "You didn't tell them we'd be able to handle it?"

"I didn't want to jinx us."

"A lost cause, that."

Rocket glanced to Snart. "These guys do use money, right? Cause we have a standard rate going for planet saving."

Gamora nodded. "It varies on planet size, population, how much damage it takes…"

"Plus, how rich they are already," Drax finished.

"You guys charge money for your work?" Mick paused. "Any chance I can join your crew?"

"I will give you a million dollars if you say yes," Laurel piped in.

Sara stared at her. "You have that?"

"I'm a former crook, this is a time machine, I can find it!"

Nebula smiled. "I like her."

Gamora looked at her in surprise. "You don't like anyone."

"I know. That's what makes it more impressive."

A familiar humming sound cut through the air and the Legends turned as what looked like a doorway shimmered and opened. From it stepped a dark-haired and attractive woman who made a quick rush to enter the bridge just before the door closed behind her. "Damn, glad that worked," Nora Darkh stated as she adjusted her coat over her blouse and jeans.

"Nora!" Ray brightened up. "What are you doing here?"

She brushed at her hair. "Sorry but you guys have gone off the grid for a while and we were having issues tracking you."

Sara frowned. "Still? Ava was telling me that since the Dusting, focusing on time periods has been tougher than usual."

"It is," Nora confirmed. "We could barely get a connection to you guys. Finding a way into possible futures is always tough."

"She's right," Mick stated. "Lots of possible futures out there but the closer they get to the present, they can wink out. Makes it a lot harder to figure out where someone is." He saw the surprised looks and shrugged. "Hey, still picked up a couple of things when I was Chronos."

Ray smiled at Nora. "Good to see you again."

She waved a hand. "It was me or Mona and while the girl has a nice eager attitude, she's not ready for major field work yet." She smiled at Ray.

Mantis' antenna flexed once more. "Their desire is quite strong...It began as hate but now great passion there."

Snart frowned. "Who is this now?"

"Nora Darkh," Mick explained. "Dad was a psycho magic guy who recruited a past you to his side."

"Ah," Snart was feeling rather tired of having to make that simple observation over and over.

Gideon's voice cut through. " _We have visitors here, Captain._ " Sara nodded as she headed off with Laurel, Nate, Snart and Mick behind her. They got to the opening ramp to find Talla moving forward with a few security officers behind her. A pair were carrying the remains of a Kaylon drone with them. "Sorry if I'm brusque but we have to get moving," she said. "My home planet is tough but not against the Kaylon." She waved at the drone. "We brought one along like you asked, maybe you can have better luck figuring out how they work."

Nate leaned to Ray. "Am I the only one worried about the security guys wearing red shirts?"

"Welcome aboard," Sara stated as the group entered. "Gideon, you got the coordinates?"

"Already inputed, Captain."

"Fire it up and let's get going." She clapped her hands as she entered the bridge. "Get it together, folks! We're going to be pulling a _Blade Runner_ and retiring some robots!"

" _Blade Runner?_ " Peter frowned. "That flop movie with Han Solo in it? Who cares about that?"

"Shut it, Quill."

* * *

 **Some character development and set up as next chapter brings in a lot more action to fire things up again. Thanks for the wait.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Tomorrow's Guardians**

 **By Michael Weyer**

 **Sorry for the long delay on this, had to handle work and other fics. Then the entire coronavirus chaos hit with the unique irony of me being busier in that time than others. So apologize but here goes with more.**

* * *

Nebula frowned deeply as she took in the "armory" of the Waverider. "Let me get this straight…you can go throughout time, including the far future…and this is your weapons rack?" She waved at the selection of swords, blades, a few old-styled firearms, and what looked like a slingshot on the walls.

"Let me put it this way," Laurel calmly said. "Would you put an armory of super-advanced weapons in the hands of a bunch like this?" Nebula considered the question for a long moment, then nodded in agreement. She reached to remove a large samurai sword, balancing in her hands and nodding. "This will do."

Laurel looked at her. "So…you and Gamora…You get along…better now?"

Nebula shrugged. "There are still…issues. You don't get over the hate for so long…But…after she died…I realized it was better to accept our problems rather than continue to fight over them." Laurel mused on her words.

The two headed out of the armory and back to the bridge. Mick, Snart, Drax and Rocket were around one table, playing cards with a pair of security officers. Nearby, Talla was with Sara, talking intently. "You have to know that Xelayan has a much higher field of gravity than most worlds. It's a reason we're so strong, we adapt to it well."

"How much larger?"

"At least five times than the average planet, even more with some worlds. Most humans need special suits to handle it."

Sara turned to John. "Any way you can help?"

He pursed his lips. "Not sure. As I have told you…many…many times…mixing magic and science rarely ends well."

"My suit will work," Ray stated. "It can handle the pressures of size-changing so this shouldn't be much of a problem."

"I can handle it," Charlie announced. At Sara's surprised look, she shrugged. "I'm used to altering my body a few times, I should be able to adjust to this."

"You really think you can?"

"Hey, handled the mountains with Hannibal once."

Sara narrowed her eyes at yet another of Charlie's references to events from centuries earlier. "Just how old are you anyway?"

A wistful look came to Charlie's face. "Old enough I stopped counting a while ago."

Gamora narrowed her own eyes in a more dangerous manner. "I don't like people with secrets. And you have scores of them."

Charlie just smirked. "Think you're not the type to toss stones, greenie. Besides, if I were to start sharing my secrets, it would blow your mind way harder than any gun I could fire."

Convinced pressing the issue was a can of worms she didn't want to open now, Sara moved on. "Ray's analysis of that drone gives us a chance to disrupt their shielding which can help in an attack. We'll still need more to figure a proper one out."

"I hope so," Talla said. "My planet has good defenses but we're not pure military, we're more academics and a great vacation spot." She snorted. "Of course, some would be upset they lose the best drinking hole in the Union…"

Mick perked up at that. "Drinking hole?"

Talla nodded. "Yep. At the risk of sounding immodest, we probably make the best tequila in the entire Union."

Mick stared at her before speaking solemnly. "I will lay down my life to save this planet."

"It's so nice to find your motivation, Mick," Sara dryly stated. "Now we just have to figure out an attack plan..."

"If you want ideas…" Quill began.

"Not from you," Sara quickly said.

"Come on, why not?"

"Because you're an idiot!"

"I once stopped a galactic invasion!"

"And how many have you started?"

"Please, I've been on this ship long enough to hear about some of the disasters you guys cause!"

"For once, Quill's right," Gamora snapped. "You bunch make us look like professionals."

"That's not..."

"We've actually saved the galaxy from other disasters. Name one mess you solved that you didn't have a hand in creating first."

Sara opened her mouth then shut it as she realized she really couldn't fight them on that point.

"Listen, I think we can use a better plan than just flying in to charge." Quill held up his hands. "Even the Rebellion had better than that. Well, in some cases, haven't seen the new movies yet…"

Nate snorted. "You're lucky. The last ones were a letdown _. Rise of Skywalke_ r…"

Talla beamed. "Oh, I know, that was just great! The big final battle alone was terrific!"

Ray blinked. "Wait…you _liked Rise of Skywalker_?"

Talla seemed surprised by the question. "Of course! Everyone does!" She waved a hand.  
"Okay, you can argue _Last Jedi_ is a better-made movie but it still wrapped up the initial saga well! Of course, the next trilogy was so much better…"

She frowned at the stares she was getting from the various Legends. "What? I say something?"

The group just kept staring with Nate leaning toward Snart. "They got a different version than us, right?"

Snart shrugged. "Put a few centuries between release and a new fandom, opinions can change."

"That much?!"

Laurel shrugged. "Ah, it wasn't as big on my Earth. Oh, sure, they were hits, just not as culturally significant." She smiled. "Now John Carter, that was a fantastic sci-fi franchise!" Her face soured. "Well, at least it was before Disney sold it to Universal…"

Sara shook her head. "Moving off this, Gideon, how close are we?"

" _Roughly forty minutes from destination, Captain."_

"Right, make sure the cloak is up so we don't get spotted."

Talla was passing by her to head toward the table with her officers. Ray paused to lean in. "You know _Game of Thrones_?"

Her eyes lit up. "Just binged it all! Wow, was that last season not the best? What a perfect way to wrap it all up!" Ray just stared at her before slowly shaking his head.

"Just don't tell us how the books end," Sara quickly said. "We want to find out on our own."

"I hope he gets it right in the end," Nate sighs. "Hate he drops the ball like too many other authors…"

"Hey, you try it sometime!" Mick snapped. "It's not as easy as it looks!"

Rocket and Snart both exchanged slow looks. "You…write?" Snart asked.

"It's fun," Mick said with a shrug.

Len cocked his head as if making a study. "You've changed, Mick."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Good or bad?"

"I lean toward good," Snart replied. "You're more responsible, more on the ball. You used to be more of a mad dog type but now a lot smarter. It's a good look for you."

Mick smirked. "Ah, don't worry, I still love a good beer and woman over anything responsible." Len chuckled as he smacked a hand to his friend's arm. "Although I admit, do still miss the occasional robbery."

Talla stared. "Robbery? Wait, you're thieves?"

"Ex-thieves," Snart intoned. He nodded to Sara. "Hey, she's an ex-assassin!"

Mick pointed to Ray. "He's an ex-millionaire." He motioned to Nate. "Ex-scholar…" He nodded toward Nora. "Ex-evil witch." He motioned to Laurel. "Ex-supervillain."

"So your group is all one big subtraction," Talla mused.

Mantis looked at Nora, then to Ray. "The attraction is strong between them…The hate giving to love so greatly…"

Quill rolled his eyes. "Mantis, we talked about this, you need to get a hold on this talk about people in bed."

"I hold my own a lot in my bed. As do you." Mantis was confused at the snickers that comment produced.

Zari brushed her hair back. "At least it sounds like we're headed to a better planet. These Moclan guys sound….rough."

"True," Nate stated. "I mean, I get another species but this whole make folks conform to one gender thing…"

Quill snorted to get their attention. "Ya know, if Earth is ever going to get into the rest of the universe, they're gonna have to learn that not every culture is going to conform to what they think is right."

"You think forcing infants to have their genders changed is right?" Zari demanded.

Quill rolled his eyes. "Lady, I have been on planets where taboos that would blow the mind of the most liberal person are acceptable behavior. I gave up trying to judge them a while ago. It's better to just let them have their ways and not make waves fighting them. Don't get me wrong, I don't always like it but given how backward Earth in our time is, we've got no room to be judging some other race."

"So we just ignore it?"

"Hey, this isn't even your time or your universe. Get off the high horse!"

"I see no horses of any height on this ship," Drax intoned.

" _I am Groot."_

"See, he's right," Quill continued. "That whole 'judge not' thing still holds true for space travel."

Gamora nodded with him. "If you're trying to push your moral beliefs on another culture, it won't end well. That's true anywhere in the universe."

Charlie sighed. "Hate to say it but she's got a point. Come on, you lot were ready to bump me off the first time we met just for what I was, not like you can be casting stones! Folks can change, this group is living proof of that."

"As a historian, they have a point," Nate intoned.

Quill beamed. "See! We know more than you on this!"

"That's not what I..."

"Nope, sorry, it's how we're taking it, debate settled, we're winners!"

Siren rubbed her forehead as she walked off to the hallway. "I need a break." Sara sighed to follow her. "Hey, I know, this isn't quite what you signed on for…"

"I signed on for some way to make up for what I've done," Laurel snapped. "Not be dragged through time amid some nutty sitcom/cartoon hijinks!"

"Is that what you think is happening?"

"I think I'm paying off my karma at a vastly accelerated rate."

Sara sighed. "I'm trying to be understanding here, Laurel. I get it, you're mad about me and Oliver, you never got to handle it with your Sara before she died and-"

"You're not dead."

Sara stopped. "Wait, what?"

Laurel looked a bit chagrined. "You're not dead on my world."

Sara blinked in confusion. "But…you said…"

"I know, I know," Laurel said with her hands raised. "Before the boat went down, Oliver got you onto a life raft. The storm blew you to some shipping lanes so you were found. Media made a big deal out of it but it actually sobered you up to get yourself on track."

Sara stared at her. "You've been saying…"

Laurel threw up her hands as she sighed. "Listen, I was happy you were alive but still the fact you were sleeping with my boyfriend. We always had issues after Dad died and just got tenser. So, I took a break for Central City and…it happened. Then I went on a dark path and after that, you basically declared I was dead as far you were concentered so decided it'd be mutual."

Sara was just staring with an open mouth. "You….you…"

"Hello? Former super-villain! And you're one to lecture on secrets…"

"It's not the same!" Sara hissed. "You've let me think I was some…substitute for your sister who is still around!"

"It's not like I can see her!" Laurel snapped. "I'm pretty sure I'm still wanted on that world and even without that, as I said, she pretty much hated me…."

"She doesn't hate you."

"How can you be sure?"

"Well, I don't. Even with all you've done, the fact is….If you were still my sister, I'd still care about you." Sara crossed her arms. "Maybe instead of trying to mend fences with me, you pick the Sara you should be dealing with."

Laurel frowned as if never considering that before. Sara shook her head. "So…where am I?"

"Married and with a kid."

"Married? To who?"

Laurel just smiled as she walked off toward her quarters. "You're really going to leave me hanging there?" Sara called off.

"Ex-super-villain!"

"You can't keep using that as an excuse!"

* * *

Ed Mercer was heading to his quarters as he saw LaMarr coming up. "We've got engineering at full blast, sir," he intoned. "Plus, adjusting frequency of our weapons to try and crack through the Kaylon shields."

"Good work," Ed stated.

"Sir, if I can volunteer…"

"Denied," Mercer stated. "Sorry, John, but we need you in engineering more."

"Sir, I can handle myself in a fight."

"LaMarr, the only time I saw you get into a fight was with a stuck drawer and despite the fact you had two good arms and a screwdriver and it was an inanimate object, you still lost." Mercer softened his tone. "John, I mean it. You're more valuable in engineering than on the front lines. The ship has to be at its best and you're going to be the man to help it."

LaMarr sighed. "Understood, sir." He headed off as Ed moved to his quarters. He stopped as he saw the woman inside studying a book. "Teleya."

The Krill looked up at him with that odd little smirk that was so much like Janel. "Captain," she said in her cool voice. "I would have thought you'd have changed the code on your lock by now."

"It was on the to-do list," Ed returned in that same cool voice. He stepped inside, keeping himself as professional as possible. "Why are you here?"

"Would you believe to discuss battle tactics?"

"You can do that in an official capacity," Ed stated, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed. "I want to know the real reason."

Teyela was quiet for a long moment. "I have…considered what you said to me when we last parted. At the time, I chalked it up to the usual human weakness. The foolishness we could ever become some sort of equals." She slid the book back on the shelf, letting Ed see it was an early 21st-century history tome. "All one needs is to look at your planet's history to see how easily you turn on one another, even in times of great disaster."

Ed held up a hand. "If this is going to turn into the typical 'aliens throw their superiority via stuff Earth did centuries ago' line, can you just spare me? Every Earthling on this ship has heard that about a hundred times." He moved to his nearby refreshing station to quickly replicate a cup of coffee. "Pretty sure I can throw a few nasty shots at your culture."

"Hmmm, perhaps," Teyela allowed. "But the fact you were willing to let me go back to my people was…not what we expected." She mulled over her words. "And now the Kaylon has reminded us that, as different as we are in so many ways, we are still organics and thus united against them."

"And?" Ed asked as he sipped his coffee.

"As I said, many in my race would have been happy to see you all die," Teyela stated. "But many agree that a war between us is not in our best interests." She held up a finger. "Do not mistake me, Mercer. We still hold that we are a superior race chosen by Avis." The finger turned into a wave of her hand. "But, if not peace…than cooperation would be in our best interests."

Ed sipped at his coffee. "You had to binge on our history for your cover. So you remember how ugly we were a few hundred years ago. I won't say we're perfect by any means but we changed."

"More like it was forced upon you," Teyela stated. "Let's be frank, Mercer. Take away a few pandemics and climate disasters and would your race really have let go of the materialistic and divided ways you held to in, say, early 2020?"

"Maybe not," Ed allowed. "But the fact remains that we did get through it. We both know a lot of races that didn't. We've improved to a better way of life, fixed a lot of our damage." He waved a hand. "I don't expect your culture to change fast. It took us a long time, it can take you centuries to let go of your…way of thinking."

"Our faith? Our beliefs? Yes, we take much pride in that." Teyela came up toward him. "But perhaps some…partnership is better in the long run."

Ed returned her gaze with an icy one. "Don't try to play me, Teyela. I know those games by now."

"Are you sure? You said that maybe there was more of Janel in me than I cared to admit?"

"I'm not going to look for something that I know isn't truly there," Ed returned. "We're allies for now against the Kaylon but don't think you can seduce me into giving up any more secrets."

"Seduction…is a two-way street."

Ed was never more grateful for the chime from his door. "Enter." It slid open to show Kelly. "Ed, I…." She stopped and glared at Teyela.

"She was just leaving," Ed assured his ex-wife. "Weren't you?"

Teyela smirked at him. "We shall continue this later…Captain." She began marching forward only to have Kelly block her with an arm. The blonde looked up at the Krill with a calm expression. "You know…Ed wasn't the only one who was hurt when he realized who you were. I really thought you were a good person. I trusted you. I liked you."

Teyela didn't seem to care as her smirk grew. "And?"

"And I just realized there was something I forgot to do." Kelly's fist lashed out to punch Teyela in the jaw. The Krill hissed but saw Kelly ready to keep right on fighting. She rubbed at her jaw as she gave a slow nod before marching out.

Ed chuckled. "I can't believe it took you this long to do that."

"Me neither," Kelly admitted, rubbing her knuckles. "What did she want?"

"Probably the old mind games," Ed said, trying to brush it off. "I'm a bit smarter this time."

"I guess so." Kelly looked at him and sighed. "You ever think sometimes if things had gone differently? I don't mean just us….I mean…maybe if we'd never gotten together in the first place, saved a lot of pain."

"Then I probably wouldn't be here right now," Ed said. "It's like that old saying, you pull on or try to fix a loose strand and it just undoes the tapestry of your life. Come on, Kelly, you start thinking of all the stuff you wish was different, you ignore what's still coming. Right now, I need to be focused on the present, not the past."

A buzz echoed. " _Captain_ ," Bortus' voice cut in. " _We are twenty minutes from Moclus."_

"I'll be on the bridge in a moment," Ed returned. He smiled to Kelly. "Thanks."

"For punching her?"

"You get me."

* * *

"We're coming up now!" Sara called out as the waves of blue light faded to show the world before them. A fleet of Kaylon ships were engaged with the Xelayian fleet, the latter doing their best but clearly outmatched by the more powerful vessels. The crews were gathered together as the Waverider swept toward the battle. The Krill ship with them was already charging in to fire away, igniting one of the Kaylon vessels.

" _Captain_ ," Gideon announced. _"It appears one group of Kaylon has broken away to head to the planet itself."_

"They're staging an invasion?" Sara asked.

" _It is only one smaller craft. It appears to be headed to a certain section of the planet_." The screen shifted to a readout of the world, colored lights showing where the Kaylon ship had landed. Talla took it in with a deep frown. "That's the Iradias Range….it's a ring of volcanic islands set about mid-way through the planet." She rubbed her chin. "This makes no sense, why attack there and not one of the main population centers?"

" _Captain, scans are showing a powerful source of energy within that ship,"_ Gideon continued. " _In modern parlance, it would be the equivalent of a 1000-megaton nuclear bomb_."

As the group watched, one of the larger Kaylon ships broke from the pack to place itself in orbit. The front of the ship unleashed a powerful blast of energy that cut right into the planet. On the scanner, the beam linked right up with the Iradias Range. "They're…firing into a volcano?" Mick asked.

Ray's eyes widened. "Oh, hell."

"Oh, I don't like that oh, hell," Talla intoned.

Ray swallowed. "Volcanos are linked to active magma lines, tectonic plates, and weaknesses in planetary mantles. Enough energy poured in and you can crack the mantle further. Now, drop some sort of super-nuke into that and you can cause a combination of eruption and mega-quake and…."

"Gideon, give us a model," Sara barked. "What happens if they do this?"

As they watched, a hologram appeared of Xelayan on the meeting table. A flash of light erupted from the area of the Iradias Range. The entire globe literally shook with oceans transforming into tsunamis to wash over entire landmasses. The ones that weren't engulfed were shattering under quakes, many ripped in half and some continents falling into the ocean.

"Oh my God," Talla whispered, her face white.

"Why bother wiping out folks one by one when you can take out a whole planet in one fell swoop?" Nebula noted with a scowl. "My father would be proud of this."

"We still have time before they can get to the right level to drop the bomb," Ray assured her.

"How long?" Sara barked.

" _At current power levels, my estimation is along the lines of twenty-three minutes."_

"Why is there always a countdown on these things?!" Rocket barked.

Sara bit her lip. "All right. Quill, take your ship out of our hold and help them out."

"Hey, there's only one person I respect as the Boss and he's from Jersey!"

Ignoring him, Sara went on. "Nate, Ray, Charlie, join Talla in getting down there."

" _I am Groot."_

Rocket frowned at the tree. "Really?"

 _"I am Groot."_

"Huh, guess you're right, if trees handle it on that planet, you should too."

"Fine, just get down there fast," Sara clapped her hands together. "We'll try and stop that ship blasting down to help give you time, let's get cracking people!"

Len was smirking. "You really have grown into a command role…"

"Still not sleeping with you, Snart."

"A man can dream…"

* * *

Alara Kitan had come to the conclusion that the fates had it in for her.

It may have seemed crazy but it was hard to argue given the circumstances. Of all places on her homeworld to take a day off, she just had to pick an area being invaded by what appeared to be Kaylon. It was supposed to be a simple research trip for her studies but now here she was right back in combat.

She ducked behind a barrage of blaster fire that erupted a tree behind her. She rose up, her simple travel pants and shirt with the light jacket a far cry from her old uniform but her training was still built in her. She fired off several blasts that knocked one Kaylon back. She dodged another blast as eh gave thanks she'd come alone. The last thing she needed was to try and protect a pack of scared students right now.

Alara peeked her head from cover to take in the situation. The Kaylon forces had assembled around the base of the volcano. Unlike Earth volcanos with huge mountains, it was set closer to the ground to resemble a sinkhole and while currently dormant, there were still the usual heat and fumes coming from them which the Kaylon didn't notice. Neither did they seem to care about the massive beam of energy cutting through the sky to bury itself into the hole. Alara had no idea what this was about but knew she didn't want to find out.

She heard the sound of engines and looked up to see an odd-looking ship flying downward. It unleashed a barrage of fire to knock several of the Kaylon away. The ramp of the ship opened to allow several passengers to exit. Alara blinked at the odd assemblage. There was a man in a multi-colored suit of armor, another who appeared to be solid steel, a dark-skinned woman with a huge rifle, and what looked like a giant walking tree. With them was a Xelayan in a familiar uniform.

The armored man was firing a blast of energy from his gauntlet as the group moved in. Alara fired off her pistol as she joined them. "Hey," she said. "Alara Kitan."

"Well, this is ironic." The Xelayan woman smiled. "Lieutenant Talla Keyali, _U.S.S. Orville_."

Alara's eyebrows went up. "Oh, wow. I heard about you, didn't think we'd meet." They quickly shook hands. "Is Captain Mercer here?"

Talla shook her head. "The Kaylon are also attacking Moclus, he has to be there."

"I can't believe this," Alara mused. "The Kaylon?"

"Yep, it turns out they're pure organic-life haters."

"Like that Earth classic, _The Terminator_?"

"Exactly."

"Seriously, how do you people know all this?!" Ray yelled as he saw several Kaylons moving a large device toward the edge of the volcano. "Guys, we can't let them drop it in!"

Nate was tossing out a punch to knock a Kaylon back while Groot was sweeping his arms around to smash two against nearby rocks. Alara looked over to Talla. "Um….who are these guys?'

"In my professional opinion?" Talla let out a deep breath. "Idiots."

"Oh. So not much different than on the _Orville_."

"Exactly."

* * *

The main weakness of Kaylons, like many artificial intelligence forms, was the lack of imagination. They were logical to the extreme which aided in their ruthless nature. While they acknowledged the chaotic ways of organic life, they still conformed to a strict way of thinking. They designed their defenses on the studied patterns of various races. In the case of the Xayalans, the Kaylon were correct in being prepared for set and predictable patterns.

If there was one thing the Legends and the Guardians had in common, it was a tendency to be anything but predictable.

Thus, the Kaylons in charge of the defenses of the primary ship were unprepared for the completely illogical method of sending the Waverider smashing right through the main docking area of the ship. Sara grit her teeth as it made a rough landing. "Okay, folks, get going!"

The Kaylon in the hanger who hadn't been crushed or knocked aside by the ship were moving in with weapons drawn as the rear entrance opened. Twin blasts of cold and fire erupted outward to take out the ones in the lead, joined by a huge blaster cannon. Snart, Mick, and Rocket were storming out of the ramp, continuing their blasts at the robots, Rocket scurrying onto Mick's shoulder to unleash more fire.

Snart smirked. "Now I get it, the little guy is growing on me too!"

"Wait'll you get him drinking!" Mick blasted another wave of heat just as Quill emerged, firing off his own blasters. With a howl, Drax charged out, smashing into any Kaylons in his path and not caring if his knives made little impact on them. Zari emerged to throw out a hand and sent a blast of wind outward with Nora tossing a fireball at another.

The security officers were joining them, helping lay down cover fire. One gasped as he was hit by a Kaylon blast to go down. Quill took in his red uniform and winced. "That was inevitable…"

The trampling of metallic boots echoed as a pack of Kaylon marched toward the hanger. "Company!" Zari yelled.

Quill smirked as he fired his blaster at a nearby console. It erupted in a shower of sparks…and nothing happened. "The hell?" he called out. "That's supposed to shut the doors! It always works!"

"Not here!" Zari unleashed another wave of wind at the approaching robots. Snart moved fast, firing off a wide blast from his gun. It solidified in the doorway, thickening to create a layer of ice. He kept it up before finally backing away from the frozen solid door. "That won't hold long!"

Rocket was scurrying over to unload the large pack on his back. He pulled out a large box-shaped device to attach it to a nearby conduit. "Don't worry, this thing will do the job!"

Zari frowned. "Shouldn't we be attaching that to…I don't know….the ship's core or something?"

"Nah, this'll do," Rocket said as he worked several buttons and switches on the console. "We're still close enough to main power sources and this baby'll run through the system, causing more mini-explosions till it reaches the main power than KABLOOM!"

"When did you make this up?"

"Ah, just borrowed some random stuff from yer ship, amazing what can be used to make a great bomb!"

"Wait, he just made up a bomb out of random stuff on the ship?" one of the security officers said. "Who is he, the Professor from Gilligan's Island?"

Snart rolled his eyes. "God help me, I agree with Palmer, it's insane you all know that show!"

Rocket was quickly adjusting the controls. "Just need ya to buy me some time!"

"I have already explained, time cannot be bought!" Drax called out.

Rocket ignored him to ensure the bomb was properly attached. "All right, clear on out!" He scurried over toward the ship with the others soon falling in. "Sure this will work?" Snart asked.

"Trust me." Rocket was racing ahead as Quill took up the rear with the ramp slowly closing up. The Waverider pulled out and managed to get out of the hanger bay. It was flying off as the bomb went off, the explosion rocking the hanger. The power surge was soon sparking through the ship, creating more explosions, tearing through the structure. From the outside, the explosions echoed as the Kaylon vessel began to erupt in flame. The beam of energy seemed to add to it as the ship finally erupted into a massive fireball. The other Kaylon vessels pulled away and were soon vanishing into hyperdrive.

"Huh, easier than I thought," Sara intoned.

Laurel shrugged. "We get so many disasters, the law of averages alone dictates we're able to get one right eventually."

A buzz cut through the air. " _Um, guys, the beam got cut off so I assume it worked_?"

"Yeah, it worked great, Ray."

"Oh. Um, good…." Stepping over the bodies of the Kaylon troops scattered about, Ray looked down at where Groot was reaching out with his thick branches to hold Nate, Alara and Talla, who were all hanging several feet in the volcano, holding the ends of the bomb the Kaylons had pushed in and grunting at the effort. "Cause…kind of issue with the bomb dropped…."

"Can't you, I don't know, shrink it down?"

"Shrinking down a massive nuclear device may not be the best move." Ray winced as he saw Groot dragging his arms back, his feet literally setting root into the ground. "But don't worry, we…have it handled!"

Alara grunted as she kept up her grip on the device. "Listen…" she hissed. "I'm coming with you."

Talla looked at her with surprise. "You are?"

"I've been fixing my health issues," Alara replied. "Besides, this is a huge crisis, you can use every hand you can get. And hey, I miss the crew."

"Welcome aboard."

Nate winced as the trio were pulled toward the top of the opening. "You may be changing your mind on that soon."

Back on the ship, Sara looked to Gamora. "We need to get a warning to the _Orville_. If the Kaylon have the same plans for Moclus…"

Gamora nodded. "They can be in serious trouble."

"They are." The duo turned to where a suddenly subdued Mantis was looking up to them, her antenna twitching. "They truly are."

The two former killers couldn't help shivering at the way the odd woman was so serious.

* * *

In the Union Academy, cadets were trained to prepare for just about any disaster imaginable. It wasn't easy but sooner or later, the idea of coming across a destroyed planet was going to happen. The best captains had to handle that and be able to keep a level head in the middle of a catastrophe.

Ed Mercer was feeling it hard to do so.

He knew it was unprofessional to just be staring frozen in shock but he couldn't help it. He heard a choking from Kelly as she looked at the view screen to see the eruption of flame from Moclus. The planet was tearing apart before their eyes as the Kaylon vessels began to back away. What looked like a chunk of one continent was breaking off as oceans washed over land masses. The burning fire of the main Kaylon ship seemed to mock the _Orville's_ failure to stop it in time.

Ed's mind was rocked but his eyes could see tiny dots rising from the surface of the planet. "Gordon," he choked. "Get us going, protect the refugees!" Shaking himself from his stunned stupor, Gordon's hands flew over as the ship began moving.

A buzz cut through as Teyela's face appeared on the screen. " _Mercer, what are you doing? The planet is lost!_ "

"Some of the people aren't!" Mercer snapped. "There are still sections not as effected yet, we can save as many as we can!"

"T _he world is done, Mercer! Taking out the Kaylon is what matters!"_

"I know you weren't really human, Teyela but we still put lives ahead of revenge! And if you want this alliance to work…"

She scowled at him but the decision was taken out of her hands as the Kaylon vessels winked away. " _Fine. But every ship we just let get away is another we have to fight later."_

"And every Moclan we save is worth it." Teyela just smirked as the signal winked out. Gordon swallowed. "Captain, we're getting several distress calls from…well…everywhere on the planet."

"Other Union ships are five minutes out," Kelly managed to call out, her face still brimmed with tears.

"They can help." Ed paused to slowly turn toward Bortus. The man was shock silent, his face as impassive as ever. "Bortus," he said in a kind tone. "I can't imagine how this feels…but we need you right now."

Bortus nodded. "I…shall prepare to aid in the boarding of refugees, Captain." He turned to head out. Ed just sunk into his seat, barely noticing Kelly put her hand on his. Normally, he'd frown on this open act on the bridge but as he stared at the ruined planet before him, Ed figured no one would argue.

* * *

The viewscreens showed the burning images of Moclus while the perfectly safe Xeleya floated in space. The metallic fingers clicked against each other as Ultron took them in from his throne on the primary Kaylon ship. "Huh. I guess one out of two isn't bad but still..."

Kaylon Prime stepped up to his side. "Sire...We cannot understand what occurred. Both worlds should have been destroyed. Our calculations..."

"Obviously didn't take some unique human factors into account," Ultron said. "That's the annoying thing about organics, they have an amazing way to throw a wrench into things." He shrugged. "Still, Moclus taken out will be a nice blow to the Union. Now we just have to ramp up our efforts."

"Now is the time to attack Earth?"

"Prime, you may be a machine but you don't have to sound like a broken record." Ultron came as close to smiling as a figure such as him could. "Nope, it's time to ramp up to my secondary plan."

"Sire?"

"Cheer up, Prime. You're going to love this."

"Love is a weak human emotion."

"No, Prime. If anything...reveling in crushing an enemy is the strongest emotion organics can possess." Ultron clenched his fists. "And we're going to be rolling in those waves soon."

* * *

 **I had wrestled for a while but decided that destroying Moclus would raise the stakes majorly. Plus, the irony of how the Guardians/Legends managed to help one planet but not another. It shows Ultron isn't playing for keeps and shakes things up. Also enjoyed bringing Alara back to team up.**

 **At the time of IC, was with the idea that Earth-2 Sara died on the boat but then "Arrow" showed she was still alive so working that in as well.**

 **Hopefully not as long a delay until next chapter which will play on turns on Moclan culture fans know from the show and pushing more of the teams.**


End file.
